Thanks Arie, Shai & Nancy Jane, Upon reflection I concur with what you have to say. Although it was still a shock to see the bird still twitching as it was being eaten.
I was worried that the squirrel might have rabies and that was the reason for, what I thought of, it’s aberrant behavior. Thanks for the feed back. Pun intended. rk > On Dec 9, 2016, at 1:01 PM, Shaibal Mitra <[email protected]> wrote: > > Benign explanations, such as hunger or calcium deficit, are certainly > plausible, but I wouldn't rule out depravity. These little mammals are smart > enough that they probably form some sort of conviction of right and > wrong--along with the concomitant and irresistible urge to transgress. > > When I lived on the South Side of Chicago in the early 90s, I kept notes on > what the squirrels ate. Bagels, pizza, and other high-carb items were > visually amusing in their little paws, but not notably deviant. Battered and > fried drumsticks from Harold's Chicken Shack took the optics to a new plane, > especially when spun as dexterously as a pine cone between furry little > fingers. The worst was one deplorable individual whom I discovered dragging a > fairly large slab of pork ribs with its mouth. To test whether it really > needed the ribs in some pardonable way, or was just too far gone in some > moral abyss, I approached the rodent to assess the point at which > self-preservation might take over from gluttony. It would not let go! I could > have caught it, but what good would that have done? I walked away, Desiderata > in my mind's ear. > > Shai Mitra > Bay Shore > ________________________________________ > From: [email protected] > [[email protected]] on behalf of Nancy Jane Kern > [[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, December 9, 2016 12:21 PM > To: NYS BIRDS; Rick & Linda > Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] [NFBirds Report 2905] I Have Never Seen This Before > !! > > I have seen gray squirrels gnaw on a deer carcass, regularly eat suet, eat on > road kill, and chew MacDonald's hamburgers taken out of a dumpster in Albany. > Not that often, but some will do it. Maybe it relates to their level of > hunger. > > > Nancy Kern > > > Austerlitz, NY > > Columbia County > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: [email protected] > <[email protected]> on behalf of Rick & Linda > <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, December 9, 2016 12:05 PM > To: NYS BIRDS > Subject: [nysbirds-l] [NFBirds Report 2905] I Have Never Seen This Before !! > > I always thought G Squirrels were vegetarians. Here are pictures of a > squirrel on my deck eating a DE Junco. I could not believe my eyes but there > it is. > > I was working on my laptop this morning and heard a thump on the sliding > glass door. Evidently it was a DE Junco that hit the glass. I finished what I > was doing and went to see if the bird needed to be put in a box and kept warm > until it recovered. > When I got to the door I saw the squirrel already had the birds head off and > was eating the rest. > > I have never seen this before, has anyone else? > > I frequently throw out leftover wet cat food, fat and other table scraps that > the Bluejays and Blackbirds enjoy but the squirrels always turn their noses > up at that food. > > She ate the whole bird and I spotted her later with only feathers stuck to > her head and leg. > > This is a first for me and I don’t know if I like the idea of a carnivorous > squirrel. > > [cid:DFE8FBDE-B4B2-4B9F-9531-FCBFB311FC21] > > IMG_9673 > > > [cid:10AC657C-5218-4F3E-8109-F2AEEABD5C2A] > IMG_9672 > > > [cid:272CDC01-2A40-4AEB-9A34-7B02B0BFF996] > IMG_9671 > > > [cid:F66C8D08-3E61-48D1-BCE8-4DB14B1A2AA2] > IMG_9670 > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "North Fork Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > Archives: > The Mail > Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> > Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! > -- > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > Archives: > The Mail > Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> > Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! > -- > > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
