PREVIEW

AssetID: 33945541

Headline: Sparrowhawk Captures Starling

Caption: It's probably the last place you want to be if you are a starling - beak to beak with a hungry sparrowhawk. Terry Stevenson of Hempsted, Gloucester, captured the moment an unlucky bird was pinned down by its predator foe. He managed to shoot a few pictures of the scene near his home before the two went out of view into a hedge. Terry explains: "The image was taken on Tuesday morning 13 March 2018 approx 20 metres across the road from my home. My wife called me as she saw the Sparrowhawk land on the pavement with what she thought was another smaller bird. My camera is always ready and close at hand so I took a couple of shots from an upstairs window. The Hawk seemed to be simply standing over the other bird and was almost motionless for several seconds so I went downstairs and into the front garden and fired off another few shots by this time I could hear the starling screeching. Having taken the pictures I went back indoors an approaching pedestrian disturbed them at which point I saw the two disappear under a neighbours hedge; I didn’t see the outcome or if the starling survived. The whole event lasted around three mins max." Sparrowhawks eat mostly small birds, and often hunts birds in town and city gardens. Sparrowhawks have been known to prey on birds such as tits, finches, sparrows, thrushes and starlings. They can kill birds weighing more than 500 grams (18 oz).

Keywords: POTD

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