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Thanks to Alan Morris for his comments re raptor courtship in early
winter.
We have had a lot of mice on the Darling Downs recently which I thought was
probably the stimulus. But the mouse population usually crashes in July so there
wont be food to feed the young.
Maybe mice and raptors haven't had long
enough to co-evolve, especially as the selection pressure has
been slight
until the last couple of decades.
Another question for everyone. We have also had a lot of the Pale field
rat (Rattus tunneyi) this year
in areas with long grass. They weigh
up to 100 g or so. Do you think Australian kestrels or black-shouldered kites
would take them? Could these birds carry them if they did kill them, or would
they have to feed at the site of the kill? Has anyone ever seen them do
that?
Also, would anyone like to hazard a guess at the number of mice an
individual kestrel or kite would kill in a day?
Thanks in anticipation...
Judy
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