Boomvalk Falco subbuteo valt ten prooi aan Slechtvalk F. peregrinus

On 11 October 2012, a plucked juvenile Hobby Falco subbuteo was found as prey of a Peregrine Falcon F. peregrinus on the tower of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (21 stories high). The decapitated Hobby was still holding a freshly killed female Southern Oak Bush-­cricket Meconema medionale in its bill. This small cricket species is short-­winged, hence flightless, and must therefore have been captured on foot. Although it is most likely that the Peregrine captured the Hobby in flight, the fact that the latter was still holding the small, soft and easy-­to-­consume insect suggests the possibility that the Hobby was taken while sitting on the tower's ledge. The Peregrine’s prey list showed at least 16 bird species, mostly thrushes (20 out of 37 prey items;; Table 1).