I saw a magpie flying low across the road, closely followed by a brown raptor which appeared to be slightly smaller. As they entered the field along the road, the raptor struck the magpie in the back, knocking it to the ground. Would a kestrel or, more likely, a sparrowhawk tackle a bird as big as a magpie?
Paul Lynch, Rush, Co Dublin
It sounds like a female sparrowhawk; she can take prey as big as a jackdaw.
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