When the crows started making a lengthy racket at the far end of the yard 
around 8 a.m., I assumed they'd found either a visiting Red-tailed Hawk or 
the resident red fox. And sure enough, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over when I 
went out to retrieve the recycling bin half an hour later.

Then I noticed the long (6"-7") black feathers strewn across the driveway --  
at least 15 of them. In the grass off to the side were large, freshly picked 
bird bones, still bloody, including a sternum and, nearby, a thigh with 
lower leg and foot still attached.

WHAT HAPPENED?! I can't imagine a Red-tail attacking an adult crow, 
particularly not in a yard so well-supplied with squirrels and other small 
mammals. Perhaps while the crows were mobbing the Red-tail, a passing 
Cooper's Hawk took advantage of the chaos to pick off a distracted bird? Any 
other theories?


Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)

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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot