And finally, this is a female who has stripped the intestinal tract from the carcass except for one connection, then was spooked and flew off<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Thanks for persevering through so many photos that some\u00a0may find disturbing.\u00a0 I’m fascinated with bird behaviors and this is one of the most interesting for me.\u00a0 If anyone knows of a definitive explanation for this behavior I’d love to hear about it.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Several times I have photographed American Kestrels discarding the intestinal tract of their prey.\u00a0 The prey has always been a vole or mouse when I’ve seen it happen, though it may occur with small birds also.\u00a0\u00a0I was surprised by this behavior.\u00a0\u00a0Every time I’ve\u00a0seen it happen has been during our harsh winters when I would assume every last morsel of food would be significant for their survival. Below is a series of\u00a0photos where a female American Kestrel demonstrates the behavior with a vole kill. Female kestrel begins to pull\u00a0small intestine out of a vole And deliberately drops it\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The cecum? is discarded:\u00a0 the intestine is still attached to the body and hanging down the side of the post \u00a0\u00a0She pulls more intestine out of the vole \u00a0\u00a0Breaks it loose from the body \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0And deliberately drops it to the ground \u00a0\u00a0Finally, she pulls out the last of the small intestine, which she also dropped I know of others who have seen similar behaviors in other raptors – a variety of hawks and Osprey.\u00a0 Several theories to explain it have been mentioned by bird photographers and others who have seen my photographs.\u00a0 Among them: “These organs are\u00a0filled with potentially harmful bacteria”.\u00a0 Then how are many raptors, owls for example, able to consume their prey whole without harmful effect? “These organs are filled with food of low value to the kestrel (vegetative matter). Why fill up on carbs when it’s protein you need?\u00a0 Begs\u00a0 the\u00a0question – Would they also discard intestines of insectivorous birds?\u00a0 I don’t know……<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/american-kestrel-64294.jpg\" "\\"american-kestrel-6429\\"")
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