I looked out of the window an hour or two ago and saw a large Herring Gull and a Hooded Crow battling it out over something down the croft in front of the house.
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| Eyeing up the opponent |
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| David attacks Goliath |
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| Standoff |
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| Attack! |
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| Defeat or Victory - depending upon the point of view |
Interestingly when I went down the croft I could find nothing at all so assumed that it had either been consumed or removed by the Gull. However the Gull was back later and this time two Crows were attacking it. They then moved out of my field of vision so I may never know what the battle was about.
Post script. As I was writing this there was a heavy banging on, I thought, the front door. When I got up (I was at the breakfast bar in the kitchen) I realised the banging was from the conservatory. Going through to see who was so impatient I discovered a Hooded Crow banging away at the triple skinned polycarbonate roof with his beak.
Witnessed a similar fight just the other day, only it was Gull vs Magpie, and the thing they fought over was the dead body of another magpie (killed by a car)... The last thing I saw of it was the gull chasing after the live magpie... I suppose the gull would be considered the winner...
ReplyDeletePS. I took photos, but did not manage to catch the fight as you so excellently did above. And as for the bird cannibalism photo (gull eating roadkill magpie) it's so unappetizing I'm not sure I really want it on my blog...
DeleteYes, Monica, the survival of the fittest and food is food whatever form it takes. No squeamishness in the animal world.
DeleteBetter than Wimbledon are birds. MotoGP is better than birds but the birds are around everyday and MotoGP only once a fortnight in summer.
ReplyDeletePS. Anything is better than Wimbledon. Do the men have to use a towel. Do women have to scream orgasmically? No...just a load of overpaid masturbaters one and all. Stick with the birds.
DeleteDo I get the impression Adrian that you don't enjoy tennis?
DeleteWimbledon? Whassat?
DeleteMotoGP? Ah yes, Scalextric for big boys.
Women screaming orgasmically? Whassat?
Marcel, I heard them on the telly. Never in real life. GP is scalextric but even those lads don't have towel break after ever two laps.
DeleteGraham, load of overpaid useless numpties one and all, better than the fat golfers though. They even have a stick carrier.
DeleteFolk are quick to point out Rossi's wages but when did a golfer or tennis player ever come close to the limit.
Never! Both games are mearly a bit of friendly relaxation. Not proper sports at all.
Ps. How do you spell meerly?
I really must learn Martian.
DeleteMaybe they were just arguing...? Excellent photos!
ReplyDeleteAnything is possible I suppose Frances.
DeleteNo gulls here (at least not such big ones, us being 800 km away from the North Sea), but I have observed more than once avian encounters between buzzards and crows. Usually, the buzzard wisely removes himself from crow territory; he can't risk being injured in a fight because it would mean he can't hunt and that in turn would mean he'd starve to death.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes the buzzard stands his ground, especially when the crows spot him AFTER he's made his prey. Witnessing such scenes can give me goosebumps for the sheer (seemingly cruel) unforgivingness and steely determination of the protagonists.
Meike crows can be the most unpleasant of birds to us particularly their habit of taking lambs and so on whilst they are being born and the mother is powerless to defend them. In effect they sometimes create their own carrion. In a funny sort of way I think we don't usually mind most birds of pretty because they hunt 'honourably'.
DeleteNo two ways about it, I find crows plain scary and aggressive.
ReplyDeleteThat, Jenny, is because crows are plain scary and aggressive.
DeleteWonder what all the ruckus was about after all.
ReplyDeleteFor once it would be nice to see the smaller guy win over the bigger guy...as you can tell I'm on the side of the underdog.
Virginia it will have been over food. It's the only thing these guys fight over apart from defending their nest and it wasn't that. As for the little guy (the crow) being the underdog? I don't think so!
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