Berry and I have seen raptors attack and kill small mammals. This is natural and not vicious behavior. Waterbirds snag fish out of the water and fly away, and herons patiently wade in the water while fishing. Hawks snatch mice and rabbits. All natural. But we have also seen murder, plain and simple.
Several years ago we were looking out of a window at several birds enjoying our birdbath. English Sparrows and a Common Grackle enjoying the water on a hot day. Then suddenly the grackle reached toward a "pesky" Passer Domesticus and killed it with a sharp stab of its beak. The grackle just pecked at the head of the sparrow. I saw it with my own eyes. The little sparrow dropped to the ground and never moved again.
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Last year I was filling the birdbath and found featherless hatchlings already dead laying inside the birdbath. I was certain they had not flown to the birdbath. They were featherless nestlings with bulging eyeballs. They had either been transported to the birdbath and then drowned in the water, or they had died in the nest and were transported to the birdbath and disposed of there.
Again this year I have seen two dead chicks in the birdbath. Are they being culled from an overcrowded nest situation ? Are they victims of parasitic behavior by nest robbers ? It was difficult to determine what species of nestling these were. We have American Robins, Brown Thrashers, Common Grackles, Bluejays, English Sparrows, Northern Mockingbirds, Pine Warblers and Northern Flickers regularly in our yard. Who is the culprit ? Please share below, if you have seen anything like this before.
Robert photo courtesy of wikipedia
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