A closeup of a red-tailed hawk taken by reader Stephen Barnard (by now you know he’s from Idaho):
Readers’ wildlife photos
January 28, 2014 • 5:15 am
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Another excellent shot. Thanks for sharing these Stephen. And thanks for posting them Jerry.
Sweet, Stephen! Makes me glad I’m not a vole…
Pete: He’s got you down for that in your next life, matey.
There’s hardly a truer phrase than ‘The accident of birth’.
Beautiful
I think it’s pretty safe to suggest that that hawk has you pegged. Or would, if you were edible….
b&
I’m definitely edible, but I have a size advantage.
from http://www.pauldfrost.co.uk/gthornedowl.html
The Great Horned Owl has the reputation of being the only owl that has killed man. There are several variations on this story. One suggests the the person concerned was wearing a raccoon hat when walking close to a nesting site & was attacked by mistake. Another suggests that the person was attempting to reach the nest of the owl and was attacked in defence of the eggs or young. It has also been suggested that for whatever reason the person was attacked, he actually died of a heart attack, out of fright, rather than the owl physically killing him.
Most. Embarrassing. Epitaph. Ever.