Identify the murderer

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Stratman

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Last night I spotted a couple of white feathers falling from the horse chestnut tree outside the window. This morning there were about thirty or forty white downy feathers on the ground under the tree, together with two large pigeon feathers.

What would be big enough to have pigeon for dinner in a tree?

SW London/Surrey if that helps.
 
Spring heeled jack?
 
Maybe.

This isn't a riddle by the way, I want to find out what it might be.
 
A large moggie
 
A Peregrine possibly but I've seen a Sparrowhawk take a pigeon out.
 
Domestic cat would take on a pigeon.

I know one of our late cats once brought in a pigeon into his last house when he was younger.

He wasn't big at all!
 
My money on a Sparrowhawk. Caught the pigeon and took to preferred perch to eat it.
 

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A sparrowhawk does sound plausible, I have seen the occasional one around. I'm impressed one would take on a pigeon, they're about the same size.

Would a cat take a pigeon up a tree to pluck it?
 
Would a cat take a pigeon up a tree to pluck it?

In the case of our late cat, the pigeon was brought in as was.

I think they are offering it up as their gift to the household, or similar.

Probably a BoP makes more sense unless there was a struggle with a cat.
 
Probably, as said, a sparrowhawk although I would have thought that it would have taken the pigeon to the ground, mantling it. Happened on my patio a year or so ago.
 
At night it would likely be an owl.

A sparrow hawk is quite small but unlikely to be hunting at night.


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I hadn't considered an owl, I haven't seen or heard one around.

It was dusk rather than night time so a sparrowhawk would seem to be the guilty party, but of course it was only being a sparrowhawk. The interwebs confirm they will easily kill and eat a pigeon.
 
Well I have got a couple over the years with the front of my car,you get a explosion of feathers,it is like a snow storm,never took them up a tree though, suspect a sparrow hawk they will take pigeons, a neighbour kept some years ago and I saw one taken from the sky by a sparrow hawk,a cat normally will find a quiet area on the ground to eat it's catch.
 
If you have ever witnessed close up a sparrow hawk hunting at low level dipping below hedges and vegetation to cover its approach you will be left in doubt of its ability to take down a pigeon. Impressive predator.
https://youtu.be/Ra6I6svXQPg
[YOUTUBE HD]Ra6I6svXQPg[/YOUTUBE HD]
 
Sparrow hawks are pretty awesome, a couple of years ago I was sitting in the garden when a black bird was pursued through my privet hedge by a sparrow hawk which caught the bird but was then in turn caught by our black cat.

So they were on the ground black bird in talons of the hawk and the hawk pinned by my little cat.

We managed to free the birds who escaped intact.

Owls do come out at dusk and I have seen them catch many a pigeon.

They are awesome hunters.


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