Killer birds

[Rafael Furniss <>]

A friend of mine has taken to naming Magpie-larks "Killer birds". She 
related the following to me. She was driving to the university. A 
Magpie-lark flew down and landed on the road ahead of her. Another flew 
down and started pecking and attacking the first bird. Pretty soon it was 
down on the ground, bleeding. The second bird kept up the attack on the 
supine body of the first until it the was dead. Can anyone suggest 
reasons for this behaviour? Was it a territorial spat or what?

Rafael
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Subject: Actions Hard to Swallow