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November 2006

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From:
Gregory Bennett <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:57:06 -0500
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Interesting note on behavior from the Florida list.
Greg Bennett
Akron OH

Subject: Great Blue Heron predation on Pied-billed Grebe.
From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan AT EARTHLINK.NET>
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 13:53:00 -0500
This morning at Sampson Lake (west of Starke, Bradford Co.) Bob Carroll, Becky
Enneis, and I saw a Great Blue Heron carrying what appeared to be a football in
its bill. Seeing two legs projecting from one end of the football, we realized
that the heron was attempting to eat a Pied-billed Grebe, whose head and neck
were already in the heron's gullet. However, perhaps because the grebe's weight
prevented the heron from lifting it above the horizontal, or perhaps because it
was just too big to swallow under any circumstances, the situation remained
unresolved by the time we left. The heron spent about 45 minutes pacing around,
occasionally appearing to put the grebe down and then pick it up again, but
never got more than the head and neck past its gape. I was surprised when Mike
Hoekstra reported a Great Blue eating a Least Bittern at Paynes Prairie in July
1988, but according to Sibley a Least Bittern weighs only 80 g compared to a
Pied-billed Grebe's 450!

Rex Rowan
Gainesville

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