Meadowlark killing a mouse

Some interesting pics of an Eastern Meadowlark preying on a mouse. Taken near Lake Hulah in OK. Not that surprising. Most any bird that eats large insects will prey on lizards or small animals if opportunity presents itself.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18276798@N07/4119960240/in/set-72157622841610770/

I raised chickens as a kid, they were pretty good mousers too.
I love the sound of a Western Meadowlark, sadly I don't hear it as often as I used to - this area is too built up to make good habitat.
Also, I remember their songs varied from area to area - The ones in the Wet Mountain valley had longer songs than the ones in the Greeley area. This was 30+ years ago, I don't know if that is still true.

Now that is one great photo. Unfortunlatey, I've never heard a meadowlark. In fact, I've never
even seen one! Beautiful bird. Good bird, get that mouse!!!!!

I first saw the photo on the OU bird listserve. Kelly Bostian, the outdoor writer for Tulsa World and a birder, ran a story on it in the Tulsa newspaper. He is one of the few outdoor writers who routinely runs birding columns. Read about the meadowlark at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20091122_25_B8_Ameado615001 .

Also some more pics at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20091122_25_B8_Ameado615001

Amazing what we don't know!

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Wow, I didn't know they could do that. So cool! I watched about 6 sparrows chase two rats out of the yard. I thought that was pretty cool. They didn't want to share their bird feeder with any stinkin' rats.