Large Black bird eats other birds?

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Dim

Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Dim »

I was working in my garden yesterday, when I saw a large black bird (not sure of the name, but it is the larger of the 2 black bird species in my area), swoop down and attack a small baby brown bird that had just started to learn to fly

it then flew off with the baby bird squeeking.... I never knew that those birds ate other birds?
RogerBacardy

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by RogerBacardy »

Crows are always attacking pigeons here. Ripping them to pieces. Had a pigeon carcass drop on my conservatory roof. Not that I have any pity for the pigeons they're often eating the bird food I leave out for the smaller birds, and they seem to insist on pooping everywhere. icon_rambo
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Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Dave Brown »

That'll probably be Crows with a 2 1/2 ft wingspan. They are 'Carrion Crows' but at this time of year take young birds to feed their young.

Cruel as it may seem, if every baby bird survived, we'd be overrun with them in 2 or 3 years.

I watched a programme last night on Yellowstone Park re-introduction of the Wolf. Many said it would destroy the ecology, but exactly the opposite occurred. I'll start another topic on that subject as I think it worth of it's own thread :wink:

Basically a thriving eclology has a balance between predators and prey. Mess up the balance and it all goes wrong.
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Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Dave Brown »

RogerBacardy wrote:Crows are always attacking pigeons here. Ripping them to pieces. Had a pigeon carcass drop on my conservatory roof. Not that I have any pity for the pigeons they're often eating the bird food I leave out for the smaller birds, and they seem to insist on pooping everywhere. icon_rambo
They won't attack healthy Pigeons as a Pigeon will easily outfly a Crow. It will be the sick, dying, or dead.
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Deedee

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Deedee »

Magpies are just as bad, we watched a pair of bluetits build a nest in the gap behind a pipe on our back wall a couple of year ago, a while later we watched the parents fly in and out the nest with food ( just above us if we were sitting outside) I came in from work one afternoon and saw a fledgling sitting on the edge of the gap, all fluffy feathers and flapping his wings and off he went, it was a short fleight as he landed on my fence looking around in bewilderment and down swooped a magpie, held him down with his claws and ripped him to pieces, this happened another 3 times as the others fledged, i was distraught, i even thought the last one had escaped as he flew down into the undergrowth of the ivy, i heard him chirping, then it went quiet and the magpie flew up once again with meat in his beak for his young. hub blocked the gaps behind the pipework after that, I couldn't watch that again, it broke my heart..
kata

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by kata »

A Raven?

Dee, my sister once found four fledglings dead on the concrete path (no back garden) We think they fell out the nest.

I hate nature that kills another. I remember all too clearly Sir David Attenborough's' Life in the Freezer' where a polar was starving. The polar went to find food and argued with a Walrus family.

Next scene it lay dead.... :( :(
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Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

kata wrote:A Raven?

Dee, my sister once found four fledglings dead on the concrete path (no back garden) We think they fell out the nest.

I hate nature that kills another. I remember all too clearly Sir David Attenborough's' Life in the Freezer' where a polar was starving. The polar went to find food and argued with a Walrus family.

Next scene it lay dead.... :( :(

Tis nature though. Animals eat other animals unless they have the choice like humans which don't need to eat other animals to survive.
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Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Dave Brown »

kata wrote:A Raven?
Where do you see Ravens? I've only seen them at the Tower of London.
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Dim

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Dim »

it looked like this (crow?)

Image
billdango

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by billdango »

There are a family of ravens living somewhere here in St Denys, Southampton.

I see them quite often and it looks like 2 of these are adult birds and the other 3 are youngsters.

They are easy to seperate from the Carrion crow by their much larger size,different tail feathers and voice.

Carrion crows and jackdaws are common here as well along with rooks.

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Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Conifers »

billdango wrote:There are a family of ravens living somewhere here in St Denys, Southampton.

I see them quite often and it looks like 2 of these are adult birds and the other 3 are youngsters.

They are easy to seperate from the Carrion crow by their much larger size,different tail feathers and voice.
Ravens are starting to return to populated areas in a few places after centuries of human persecution, but in general they're still very rare away from remote (mainly upland) regions. You're very lucky if you have them around, superb birds.

Crows are abundant in urban areas everywhere.
kata

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by kata »

Where do you see Ravens? I've only seen them at the Tower of London.
I did'nt say I had seen any Dave, just asked the question.. :lol: But Bill says they are in st Denys, also Conifers says they are returning.
waggy1

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by waggy1 »

The Raven population has increased significantly in the Peak District, where they can be seen in numerous places.
kata

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by kata »

Next news...a Raven cull... :lol:
Clive60

Re: Large Black bird eats other birds?

Post by Clive60 »

Plenty of Ravens around here, always seen at Arne RSPB (Poole), Durlston CP (Swanage), Wareham forest and on the top of Corfe Castle (nesting).
They have a large beak compared to a Crow and are often heard first, id'd by their 'honk' rather than a Crows 'caw'.
Durlston CP cliffs last month.
Image
They seeem to be quietly increasing in mumber, but unlikely to visit a garden.
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