Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 21:56:54 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Mike Callahan Subject: Re: KILLER GRACKLE and other winter wonders MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Danny, I know of a similar instance. During a drought a few summers ago, a Common Grackle was seen and heard attacking a English House Sparrow. All we could find later were the sparrows blood and feathers (there is EHSP justice after all). The only place to get water was at the patio pond. I suspect that it was due to competition for the scarce limited resource. Sounds like a similar incident with competition for the limited available seed. Let's hope the grackles get more house sparrows than native sparrows before the snow melts. Naturally, Mike Callahan On Wed, 26 Jan 2000 21:19:44 EST Danny Poet writes: > At one point looking out of the kitchen window I saw a grackle on > top of a White-throated sparrow pecking it in the head. The sparrow was still > alive although IT was very weak barely moving.After the sparrow was dead > the grackle carried it a little farther out in the yard and started eating it, I > watched a few minutes while the grackle plucked the head area and ate some of > the sparrow. I have heard of grackles taking nestings and > eating them > but not of attacking, killing and eating adult birds. Is this > behavior rare, common any comments? I know grackle will eat anything but still ! ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ================================================================================================================================================