Kannibalisme bij Boomvalken Falco subbuteo

On a Hobby nest in a poplar in The Hague, western Netherlands, the chicks were being fed on 7 August 2016, presumably with insects (and once a bird). On 13 August, a dead chick was seen lying on the nest rim. This chick was taken by the female to a nearby poplar where she commenced plucking (and eating from) the chick for 20 minutes before she was disturbed by barking dogs. She departed, leaving the dead chick behind on a branch. The next day, the dead chick was gone. The nest still contained another chick, which was visited by the female. However, during extensive observation periods on 18 and 20 August, no more activities were recorded at the nest; apparently, the last chick had also disappeared. Nothing is known about the circumstances leading to the death of the first chick. And although the female could not be identified individually, it was thought that she was the parent belonging to the nest. This might have been a case of a parent consuming a chick of her own that had died a natural death (perhaps starvation?), as so often happens in raptors.