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Dead pigeon!

linnfomaniac83

linnfomaniac83

I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Something has killed a pigeon in my front garden. I could do whatever figuring out what. It’s completely torn in half with the two main halfs about 20’ apart and it was killed in another part of the garden... where my neighbour’s cat likes to hang out. I’d just surprised that a cat could do this much damage to such a large bird... and I don’t want to knock the neighbour’s door and ask them to clean it up if their cat hasn’t done it. Given that I can’t even walk unaided myself, it’s going to be a difficult and unpleasant job cleaning it. I’m not a cat expert, can a cat pull a pigeon apart like this?
 
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Personally doubt that, despite my inherent distaSte for cats.

I occasionally get a Sparrow Hawk in my garden, which takes much smaller things than pigeons and will spend a good 15 minutes or so pulling them to bits before leaving a pile of bones and feathers behind..
 
Sorry to hear you have such a mess to clear up:(

Sounds more like a female Sparrowhawk's work,Pidgeon collared dove is their size prey & the male is smaller so hunts smaller prey like blackbirds song birds doubles the chances of a kill. We have a large garden and on the edge of town so have regular visits from Sparrowhawks & often see collared doves/pidgeons bits around on the lawn.
 
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When returning home from work, the builder next door said our cat had caught a pigeon. I had a look around and only found two wings.

Could be a fox.

Bloss
 
I’d though it could possibly be a fox but given that they’re nocturnal and pigeons don’t tend to be, I was unsure. I know my neighbour’s cat frequents my front garden... much, much more than he does his owner’s garden, but this looks beyond the capabilities of a cat. It’s a proper mess and will need picking up with a shovel... which I can’t easily do on crutches, especially since my arthritis is spiking at the moment. Wildlife is a pain in the arse at times.:(
 
Could have been either fox, cat or hawk or killed and then got at by others. Unless you saw it you won’t know but all of those are quite capable of making a mess of a pigeon.
 
Caught by the cat, ripped in half by the fox...cleaned up by your daughter? Strange that whatever ripped it in half didn’t eat it though - maybe you disturbed them when you discovered it?
 
I was working in Mayfair, awaiting for cleaners. Whilst nosing around saw a bird of prey, possibly a sparrow hawk, stripping the flesh of a pigeon. Took it ages to strip the meat and was only disturbed when one of the cleaners screamed when seeing this. Strange, to me, that as they were Brazilians thought they would have been accustomed to this sort of thing as they came from rural areas.

Bloss
 
+1 Dowser above. Miss Linnfo is fit enough, this is her contribution to family life. She will of course want something over the course of the weekend, so if she is being taken to see her mates, the shops, whatever then this is the quid pro quo.
 
Kestrel - they're very adept at catching pigeons in my garden, and often leave the carcass behind if they're disturbed.
 
Pigeons or doves are well within the compass of a healthy cat. That you found it in two halves indicates either a very even-handed moggy or one with schizophrenic tendencies.
 
sparrowhawk. Cats will catch pigeons, but they usually go for something smaller. If there is meat left on the breast, lightly BBQ it and serve with a fruity red wine sauce. Just make sure you cook it rare.
 
Our cat dispatch’s pigeons easily but doesn’t rip them up, sounds like sparrow hawk/peregrine falcon the ones at work make a right mess of a pigeon.
Our cat only eats the breast.

Pete
 
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Either a Kestrel or Sparrow Hawk

Won't be a cat IMO

We've a large black asian cat and even he's not daft enough to tackle a large wood pigeon that had no brains but the chest the size of Arnie :D

We get birds of pray all the time taking them down in our back garden, half the time the pigeon survives and flies off laughing in the face of the bird of pray as they've that much featheradge the hawks given up knackering itself trying to get through the 14 tog duvet it calls it's feathers!
 
Sounds like a sparrowhawk to me - they hit the pigeon so hard that the bird nearly explodes, efficient killers indeed
 
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Sparrowhawk is a possibility, there are feathers in the branches of a 30’ symacomre at the end of the garden and hundreds of feathers and some entrails beneath the tree. I can’t get near it at the moment because it’s teaming with wasps... I got stung trying to move one half that’s on the drive in front of my car... had to drive rounds it instead.:mad:
 
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gintonic said:
sparrowhawk. Cats will catch pigeons, but they usually go for something smaller. If there is meat left on the breast, lightly BBQ it and serve with a fruity red wine sauce. Just make sure you cook it rare.
Click to expand...
It’s not looking too appetising but you’re welcome to come and get it.:D
 
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