I Heard The Squawking...Didn't Know Our Cat Was To Blame

I heard the quails squawking. I've heard birds squawk before, mostly because of predators.

I didn't realize our cat was the cause.

There are quail in the neighborhood. We see them occasionally. Mostly, they're scurrying across the street as we drive down the road. I don't know where they nest, but it seems they don't nest at our house. Of course, they might--I just don't see them.

The other day I was out in the yard and the quail were chirping. It didn't seem to be a panicked chirp, but more a friendly one. I did see our cat walking around, following me as I photographed the birds. The cat does that--he's followed me on a hike up the mountain before.

I went inside, then came out about twenty minutes later.

The cat sat on the lawn and I notice he was chomping something. Upon closer examination, I found what the cat was eating...a baby quail. If you look closely at the photo, there's a foot under the cat. Now, I've seen birds go crazy when their nest or babies are in danger. I watched robins go nuts when a snake was climbing up a tree to their next. I've seen magpies attack our cat when it got too close to a nest. So, it surprised me when I watched the quail seem not so bothered that a cat was in the area.

It's the way of things, birds eat bugs, cats eat birds. It's the circle of life. Still, it's interesting to see it first hand.