On 31/07/2011 13:54, Kathy wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-07-30 22:34:24 +0100, "Bertie Doe" said:



"Roger Tonkin" wrote in message
...

Another pile of bluetit feathers this morning!

Whilst I accept that sparrowhawks need to eat and survive, I feel that
by feeding the tits, I am encouraging them and giving the
sparrowhawk an
easy meal.

Many years ago (N.London) a sparrow hawk attack was thwarted by the
squirrel-proof bars on our peanut feeder and the BTs lived to fly
another day.

Last week (now E.Cornwall) a sparrow was not so lucky. As I emerged
from the kitchen door a SH pounced. On seeing me, it was unable to
perform an instant kill, so flew off carrying the hapless sparrow
....... alive!!

I'm told that they don't actually kill. They eat their prey alive.
Fluffy-wuffy Naturekins doesn't exist, I'm afraid!

I was once told that the reason cats play with their catches is to see
if it's fit to eat! Apparently, if it dies too quick, there may be
something wrong with it, and make them ill. Don't know if there is any
truth in this, but it might explain why sometimes I am confronted with
an unmarked corpse and at others an unidentifiable heap of innards.


There may very well be some truth in this, but cats 'play' with birds as
a training technique. A mother cat will deliver a healthy (or slightly
wounded bird) to her kittens in order to train them how to kill/hunt. A
female (neutered) cat of mine rarely killed birds, but held them captive
between her paws until I rescued them. *I* was supposed to be the
kitten, of course, but I 'failed' to learn the killing technique
(usually a neck bite) and released the bird instead.

Cats are efficient. Owners who understand their cats may be more so. I
have lost track of the number of birds and mice I have mercifully
released unharmed.

Unmarked corpses and unidentifiable innards often simply denote hunting
for food v hunting by inexperienced and ineffective kits. Cats rarely
hunt for sport.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay