Little Ravens 'Corvus mellori' hunt, kill and eat individuals of two species of shorebird

The Little Raven Corvus mellori is an omnivore that occasionally eats small birds. Most birds taken are thought to be eaten as carrion, though several records exist of ravens hunting and killing Budgerigars Melopsittacus undulates and a Spotted Turtle-Dove Streptopelia chinensis (Higgins et al. 2006). Both cases of bird depredation record Little Ravens attacking from above and stabbing prey to death with their beaks. Here, we report a pair of Little Ravens hunting, killing and eating a lone Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminita at Cheetham Wetlands, near Melbourne, Victoria (37° 53' 56"S, 144° 47' 33"E; 420 ha; see Antos et al. 2007 for a description). We also report an event which strongly implies they hunted and ate an adult Red-capped Plover Charadrius ruficapillus, and observations of hunting and eating eggs and chicks.