Western Red-Tailed Hawk Catches Cooper Hawk
Western Red-tailed Hawk Catches Cooper Hawk.-In’December, 1943, I was driving along a road on the south side of the Santa Cllra Valley about four miles east of 5Fi11more, Ventura County, California, when a female Western Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis calzrncs) passed over me, traveling very fast. It flew into a rather open pine tree along the road, caught something and con- ’ tinued on down the road. She tried to alight in a rather scraggly eucalyptus tree a short distance ahead, missed her footing and fell to the ground. I arrived about that time and she flew away, leaving her prey on the ground under the tree. I stopped and got out to see what it was and was much surprised to find an adult male Cooper Hawk (Acc@er coop&). It was still alive, but paralyzed from the wings back to the tail. I dropped it to the ground and was much surprised to see it take wing and fly for about fifty yards out into an orange orchard across the road. I went over and found it hanging by one claw to an orange branch, still alive and struggling. I carried it over to the road, killed it with a stick and placed it at the side of the road in plain view of the Red-tail which was perched on an electric pole near by. I passed there the next day and found no sign of the Cooper Hawk, so possibly the Red-tail had returned for her dinner.-SIDNEY B. PEYTON, Fillmore, California, , May 22,1945.
