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[–] 73 points 2 years ago (15 children)

My experience has been that a smaller bird will attack the bird of prey relentlessly till they're on their way.

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  • [–] 37 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Tru dat. Small birds are more maneuverable. If it's pure bird-on-bird aerial combat, the bird with less mass will pretty much always have the advantage; they can get behind the big bird and just peck it from above until they feel like stopping. It's a very rare inversion of the usual rules of Nature Fight.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Really depends on the individual birds in question IMO. A red tailed hawk for example is really best optimized for prey on the ground like rabbits. On the other hand, a peregrine falcon is optimized for aerial prey and they eat everything from hummingbirds to geese

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Doesn't the peregrine take those out at mach 69 from the air and not while the cocky little shit is talking smack in his ear on a branch though?

    Get fucked big falcon. This is lil birb territory.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    That’s what they’re famous for. However, they can catch prey like songbirds by simply being faster and more agile than the quarry, chasing them down in horizontal flight. Some journal articles credit it with a horizontal top speed in the 90 mph range.

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  • [–] 28 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I was watching some crows chase around an eagle the other day. The pathetic squee noises it made like it’s saying “I toldja I was sorry I ate your babies” has me wondering why we have all fallen for this whole eagles are a symbol of power gobbledegook.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Mostly less efficient vultures, but way more magnificent, so they've got that going for them. (In Australia, so the Wedge Tail eagle is the niche filler and very much a scavenger, always a pleasure to see tho)

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    3 crows that hang out near my house and join my chickens and ducks when I toss scratch and treats out have made it their mission to keep said birds safe.

    Wife and I watched them hassle a hawk until it flew away, gen they came back and chilled on our fence. Tossed them some French fries for the work well done

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I watched a falcon casually tear a smaller bird into pieces and spit its feathers under a tree in my front yard over the course of 20 minutes

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    I'm not super familiar with falcon, it was mostly red tails and sharp shinned hawks where I grew up. Smaller birds were always hyper aggressive with the larger predatory birds. I assumed they were trying to chase the larger birds away from their nest or out of their territory. I've never seen a red-tail go after a bird. Its usually snakes, mice, and rabbits.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I saw a hawk and a Robin going at it one day. It fucked me up when the Robin hit the hawk and it started to fall. Didn't see the aftermath as I was driving but either way. Never expected a hawk to lose against a Robin.

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  • [–] 32 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    This is like that one meme about the kestrel stealing from a falcon or something.

    The risk I took was calculated. But man, am I bad at math.

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  • [–] 25 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Coopers hawk and male house finch? I'm a beginner border pls halp identify

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    Courage is knowing you're likely to fail, but taking a chance and doing your best anyway. Stupidity is thinking there's little to no risk when there's a lot.

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago (9 children)

    Do not attribute to courage that which can be attributed to stupidity.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    I've seen more small birds harassing large ones than the other way around. Agility is important in the air. And surprise is important to how large birds hunt.

    Though the bird in the picture might be asking for it to get that close while not in the air.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (6 children)

    Which razor is this? I like it.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Gillette Vector Pro Plus 3000 with advanced cooling gel pad. Makes your face look like a boiled egg.

    Also known as Hanlon's razor.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    I thought Hanlon's razor pertained to malice, not courage. Is there no distinction between the two?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    You're right about the malice bit. Maybe there are corollaries?

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    It's not listed on Wikipedia's list of philosophical razors, so I guess that means you get to name it :)

    Mr. Unicorn Man's razor: Never attribute to courage that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

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  • [+] 1 point 2 years ago
    [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Is that hawk going to scarf on the little one now?

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