Nature often shows her seemingly cruel side, and the backyard is not immune from those demonstrations. A sharp shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) surprised a starling (Sturnus vulgaris) near the bird feeder today, while it was feasting on the bird seed we leave out. Sharp shinned hawks are not all that uncommon around here but they tend to hang out in the woods. The bird feeder provides some incentive to come out of the trees. It is probably not the first time either as I have found feathers on a few occasions over the last couple of months. I am not sure whether the bird in the picture is a female or a male, but females tend to be much bigger than the males. It is common for males to remove the head before delivering prey to their young, but it is winter, even though the head was removed from the starling’s torso in this instance. The hawk was pretty particular about not ingesting feathers and spent additional time plucking the bird. It was eating for a good half hour before crows landed nearby. The hawk was well aware of their presence and took off with speed and agility I have not seen in many other birds. It took the torso and left the head behind, maybe as an offering to the crows…
The head of the starling was quickly removed (presumably after eating the good bits)
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