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From: jms@turing.newcastle.ac.uk (J.M. Spencer)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Suburban Raptors
Message-ID: <1989Nov30.123059.27063@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date: 30 Nov 89 12:30:59 GMT
References: <1989Nov29.032434.9233@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@newcastle.ac.uk
Organization: Computing Laboratory, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE17RU
Lines: 19


Following on the discussion of redtailed hawk eats cats...

I am a falconer and fly a redtail.  My hawk has several times attacked cats
with intent to devour them.  Fortunately, she has thus far been unsuccessful.
I have a friend whose Harris hawk has lost two toes and the use of a third
through an attack on a feral cat.  The cat bit the hawk deep in the thigh.
This led to a serious infection which almost killed the hawk.  The hawk 
still has the main toes and so can still hunt rabbits, but tends to loose
more of them.

On the subject of whether a redtail could catch a Cooper's hawk.  A redtail
is *very* unlikely to catch one.  But my redtail is very partial to carrion,
so what's to say a wild redtail cannot find a dead Coopers and eat it.  Also
most hawks *will not* eat the primary feathers from the wings not the tail
feathers of their quarry unless the quarry is very small and the hawk in 
low condition ie: approaching starvation.  What time of year did the redtail
drop its food onto the car.  Summer time?  If so, it will have been carrying
the food back to its nest for theyoung hawks.


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