Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought this was cool.

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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Hi ed. Is the hawk eating the Mourning Dove?

The hawk is eating the dove. This does occure fairly often in my yard and as mentioned in the post below, all the tortoises in the yard have gotten a taste of bird at one time or another.

One of my iguanas snagged a bird from a hawk one time when the hawk decided to use the top of the iguana gage as a perch. That was a messy one. The iguana pulled the bird through the one by 1/2 inch mesh cage.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Since we have put pure (nothing added) suet in the "seed-cake" holder.. we have attracted about 5 different kinds of woodpeckers alone.. and THEN the Pileateds started showing up when they found these yummy groceries.. 2-3 times.. EVERYDAY!

That's a 6" holder.. one big woody!!

You gotta love 'em!

Terry

Pileated woodpeckers are awesome and becoming more and more rare. That's cool that you get them regularly.

A Rubythroated Hummingbird resting on a perch on their feeder.. while a Redheaded Woodpecker is working his way over to the suet in the "seed-cake" cage.. in the background!

(that's a 4.5" X 5" cage.. correction!)

You gotta love 'em!

Terry

See!!

very nice Pileated Woodpecker.
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My Site
1.2.1 Terrapene Carolina Triunguis
0.0.1 Nymphicus hollandicus
1.0 Melopsittacus undulatus
1.1 American Cocker Spaniels
1.0 American Short Hair? Cat
1.1 Rouen Ducks

I think I can steer this subject back towards tortoises.
a few years ago, I was in my living room and was annoyed to hear a crow sitting on the fence cawing his head off outside my window. He was looking down at the ground, so I slowly walked up to the window and looked down at the walk way in back yard under the window and there was this huge red tail hawk standing over a dove it had just killed in my yard. He was calmly plucking the feathers off the doves breast, when all of a sudden it started to spread its wings a little and sway side to side and hiss in a very threatening matter at something. I looked down the walk way and here comes big momma--125lb sulcata. Big Momma came cruising rite in totaly ignoring the hawk. The hawk waited till the last second before being run over and took off with about 20 of his crow buddies chasing him.
Big momma stopped, sniffed the dead dove and chomp, chomp, swallow-- only a few feathers stuck to her face left of the dove.
Typical sulcata.

crows and hawks dont get along in any way, most poultry farmers/keepers invite crows to stay in their yard by leaving day old eggs out in the yard, if a hawk comes into crow territory it'll(the hawk) likely be killed.
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My Site
1.2.1 Terrapene Carolina Triunguis
0.0.1 Nymphicus hollandicus
1.0 Melopsittacus undulatus
1.1 American Cocker Spaniels
1.0 American Short Hair? Cat
1.1 Rouen Ducks

TORTOISES EAT BIRDS????????????????????????????????????? I guess I learn something new every day!!

I can almost say that all tortoises will chow down on birds or bird parts.

The first tortoise in my care that was exposed to bird pieces was my leopards. There were many more different tortoises that I later observed this behavior with.

A hawk had dropped a rib cage and the leopard did not give the bird a chance to retrieve it. When I saw the tortoise chowing down I wondered 'what the hell is it eating?????'. I blew me away when I got a closer look.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

I am in shock right now! and kind of grossed out! I thought that turtles were not allowed to have protein what so ever?

Somebody forgot to tell the good lord, mother nature or whatever other forces you believe are at work.

Just to put it in perspective, you have to ask yourself how often a tortoise finds itself in the same area where a piece of carrion has been left behind. I would think not very often but more often then some would lead you to believe.

Try and get out more and observe some of these critters in the wild. You can learn a great deal from not only the chelonians but the very processes occuring with other animals that you can witness.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

That's a sharp-shinned hawk in case anyone was wondering what species it is. They feed almost entirely on birds like falcons also do, with doves being a favorite. They also love starlings.