Extracts
Study finds cats are mockingbird nests’ number one predator
By Danielle Torrent
A new study by researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History indicates that cats are the dominant predator to mockingbird nests in urban areas.
Using small security cameras, researchers filmed northern mockingbird nests in urban and natural habitats around the vicinity of Gainesville, Fla., during the nesting seasons from 2007 to 2009. They found that cats were responsible for more than 70 percent of the predator attacks on mockingbird nests.
The 57 incidents captured on tape showed that Cooper’s hawks were the most successful mockingbird nest predators in rural areas. But cats were the most common nest predators in urban areas.
The study focused on mockingbirds, but the researchers said that it could be assumed that the cats were predating other songbirds’ nests in similar numbers.
Most of the attacks happened at night, which made it difficult to determine if the cats were feral or domesticated. However, the researchers said that some of the cats were wearing collars.