John Clifton-Everest asked: Do snakes commonly form the prey of Brown
Falcons?
The answer is yes, Brown Falcons have frequently been noted with snakes as
prey, although these are adhoc records and I don't know if anyone has
established how typical that is. This food may often be taken as carrion
from roadsides. I have seen one Brown Falcon thieving a snake from another
at the roadside.
Philip Veerman - Coordinator of the ARA Prey Record Scheme 1980 to 1996
(approx).
-----Original Message-----
From: John Clifton-Everest <>
To: Birding-aus <>
Date: Monday, 2 November 1998 17:19
Subject: Brown falcons and snakes
>On a a trip to Shortland, Newcastle, at the weekend, which produced a
>nice list of species but nothing out of the ordinary, the highlight was
>a Brown Falcon with what was undoubtedly a snake, by appearance most
>probably a black snake, in its talons. It flew over, about fifty feet
>up and looking very much as though it knew where it was going. Do
>snakes commonly form the prey of Brown Falcons?
>A follow-up visit to Stockton Bridge produced a trio of Terek
>Sandpipers, confidently identified in the scope despite near-hurricane
>conditions.
>John Clifton-Everest
>
>
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