Ornithological Observations An electronic journal published by BirdLife South Africa and the Animal Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town Ornithological Observations accepts papers containing faunistic information about birds. This includes descriptions of distribution, behaviour, breeding, foraging, food, movement, measurements, habitat and plumage. It will also consider for publication a variety of other interesting or relevant ornithological material: reports of projects and conferences, annotated checklists for a site or region, specialist bibliographies, and any other interesting or relevant material. Editor: Arnold van der Westhuizen POSSIBLE PREDATION OF A PYGMY FALCON BY A TAWNY EAGLE IN NAMIBIA Joshua I Engel Recommended citation format: Engel JI 2011. Possible predation of a Pygmy Falcon by a Tawny Eagle in Namibia, Ornithological Observations, Vol 2:34-35 URL: http://oo.adu.org.za/content.php?id=19 Published online: 30 May 2011 - ISSN 2219-0341 - Ornithological Observations, Vol 2:34-35 34 POSSIBLE PREDATION OF A PYGMY FALCON BY A TAWNY EAGLE IN NAMIBIA Joshua I Engel Division of Birds, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, USA 60025
[email protected] On 8 August 2010, approximately 2km east-southeast of Okaukuejo Camp, Etosha National Park, Namibia, my tour group and I observed an adult Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax with a prey item. The prey item was clearly a fairly small, very pale bird that we assumed was a Cape Turtle-Dove Streptopelia capensis. We photographed the eagle and its prey item; when we examined the photos later we realized that the prey item was not a Cape Turtle-Dove as expected, but a Pygmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus Fig 1.