Bird fights, why? (2 Viewers)

[wilrichie09]

I saw a red kite and a buzzard quarrelling. I think it’s because the kite is in the buzzards territory or vice versa. I was in a moving car so I didn’t get to see who won.

I also once saw a seagull fighting a crow. The fight lasted over half an hour and I don’t have a clue why. The crow got its friends and then seagulls came. I think the crows won in the end. There weren’t injuries I don’t think. I saw the seagull fly away in the end. I don’t know if it was the same reason. It might be. I see little birds chasing red kites away often. Could you guys explain why a seagull and a crow would fight?

 

[Richard Prior]

Crows will defend their territory by harassing/chasing off any birds they perceive as a threat particularly in the breeding season, so gulls and birds of prey fall into that category. Even outside that period they sometimes chase Buzzards in my area and of course they go bananas if they spot a Goshawk or female Sparrowhawk! Buzzards and Kites will have the odd skirmish but sometimes this is young birds trying out their flying skills rather than real fighting'.

 

[Patudo]

Very often what you see is not so much fighting (with the intent to inflict actual injury) but what birders call "mobbing" - corvids (crows and magpies etc) and gulls letting raptors know they are there, that they have been seen and noticed, driving a potential threat away. In some cases the raptors being mobbed are not really a threat (kestrels, sparrowhawks, hobbies etc.) so the mobbing is probably out of instinct. Corvids are also (for want of a better word) bullies - they're keen to test raptors and other birds for signs of weakness, and if weakness is found, can be absolutely merciless in exploiting it. Crows mob gulls too - sometimes trying to rob food from them, other times perceiving larger gulls as a threat (I wonder if anyone has seen large gulls predating their eggs or young?).

In some cases what you see is play-fighting - young raptors of all species do this, either between themselves or having an opportunistic go at other birds. When the likes of peregrines have achieved some level of mastery of flight, it can be spectacular.

When trying to find raptors, it's always worth checking out agitated corvids - I've found many a sparrowhawk/kestrel/buzzard by the activity of ticked off crows.