V 14 No.4 - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

1987
Short Notes 211
was within a few metres of it, when it flew
a short distance away from the road.
At 12.30, when returning along the
road, I saw an immature hen Sparrowhawk,
probably the same individual, feeding on the
remains of the carcass, where it stayed until
flushed at 12.45. by this time the carcass
was much smaller and entrails were spread
a little distance away. The Sparrow hawk
again abandoned the carcass only when I
was at close range, and flew to a nearby
fence post after a first false take off. There
was no sign of a bird near the remains at
13.00 but the following afternoon a hen
Sparrowhawk in flight was seen nearby.
After heavy rain the previous afternoon
and night, the day of the observation started
misty. A combination of inexperience and
low prey availability because of poor
weather could have made the Sparrowhawk
unusually hungry.
Pigeon and quail carcasses, but not
rats, placed on plucking posts in the prelaying
and laying periods have been taken
by Sparrowhawks, Newton and Marquiss
(1981). Poisoned baits, freshly killed Song
Thrushes Turdus philomelos and Meadow
Pipits Anthus pratensis similarly placed in
the breeding season have illegally killed
Sparrowhawks in Scotland (anon. verbal
report, pers. comm. J. Young). In late
winter a hen Sparrowhawk has been found
dead beside a poisoned pigeon (pers. comm.
B. Etheridge). There seems to be no
previous record of Sparrow hawks taking
mammalian carrion.
The possibility that some Sparrow
hawks obtain significant feeding from
road casualties at critical times is of interest.
If such scavenging is often of prey readily
carried away without trace, such as small
passerines, it would be easy to overlook, and
consquently underestimate, some kinds of
wildlife road casualties.
Acknowledgements
I thank B. Etheridge, J . Young and M. Marquiss
for comments and information.
References
Newton, I. and Marquiss, M. 1981. Effect of
additional food on laying dates and clutch
sizes of sparrow hawks. Ornis Scand. 12:
224-229.
A.M. Jones, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 28006 Madrid, Spain
& Dept. of Zoology, University of Aberdeen.
A probable hybrid DunlinlSanderling
On 17 May 1981 a group of ringers from
the North Solway and Lothian Ringing
Groups made a cannon net catch at Waterfoot
on the north shore of the Solway Firth.
The catch consisted of 180 Dunlin Calidris
alpina and Ringed Plovers Charadrius
hiaticula on spring passage to Iceland and
Greenland, and amongst them was one
unusual wader. The bird was in full summer
plumage and had the look of a Dunlin
except that it had a completely white belly
and the scapulars resembled those of a
Sander ling Calidris alba rather than a
Dunlin. Unfortunately a full description of
the bird was not taken in the field. The
following description is based on five
photographs of the bird.
Head resembling a schinzii or arctica
Dunlin with distinctive buff ear coverts and
dark lores and only a faint supercilium.
Crown rufous, extensively streaked with
black. Nape like the crown but duller. Mantle
and scapulars similar to Sanderling, each
feather being black with a rufous patch on
either side and a white/grey tip. Tertials and
wing coverts all in winter plumage,
dun/grey coloured and heavily worn. Lesser
coverts near the carpal joint darker, giving
a dark 'shoulder patch'. Rump - not seen;
upper tail coverts dark in the centre with