Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnewsl!dune
From: dune@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (Greg Pasquariello)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Peregrines & shorebirds
Message-ID: <1622@cbnewsl.ATT.COM>
Date: 25 Aug 89 13:21:59 GMT
References: <1989Aug24.193532.6535@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: dune@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (Greg Pasquariello)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 23

In article <1989Aug24.193532.6535@utzoo.uucp> rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) writes:
:When I was a kid, before Peregrines were rare, I recall watching,
:one spring, as a Peregrine apparently attempted to grab a Golden
:Plover from a flock.  As I recall the incident, the Peregrine 
:stooped on the flock and actually flew around it a couple of
:times, then left, without a catch.  None of the plovers broke
:from the flock, and I assumed that the falcon was "reluctant"
:to charge into it at over 100 mph (or whatever).  We should say,
:of course, that there is selection against Peregrines that do.
:--Jim Rising
:-- 
:Name:     Jim Rising


About two years ago, I witnessed some interesting behaviour of starlings
that were being attacked by a merlin.  The starlings were in the air near
a tower.  When the merlin was spotted, the starlings didn't split up, but 
immediately formed a compact flock that flew right onto the tower.  The
merlin then made a couple of weak passes at the tower of plenty, and left.


Greg Pasquariello
...!att!picuxa!gpasq