Necking: Plucked but unharmed
Recently, the website of the Danks Ornitologisk Forening (the Danish Ornithological Society) posted a remarkable photo-story of a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and its prey, a gull, documented by photographer Christine Raaschou-Nielsen and written down (in perfect Danish) by Jan Skriver:
Pludselig stak vandrefalken af, og så dukkede en musvåge op. Nu troede jeg, at musvågen ville tage over, men det gjorde den ikke. Den fløj hen og satte sig i et læbælte, mens falken kredsede og snart forsvandt. Da var det, at mågen som jeg for længst troede var død, rejste sig og vaklede af sted på marken. Den gylpede og havde vejrtrækningsproblemer, men den levede altså, ….
The falcon is plucking its unfortunate prey – a common gull (Larus canus) – taking care of the neck first. Then a buzzard (Buteo buteo) shows up and chases-off the falcon, who leaves its prey behind. What follows is the remarkable revival of the gull. The brave bird gets up, stands fiercely on its feet and looks unharmed, … except for some missing feathers.
Thanks to ecologist Mark Grutters for bringing this to my attention.