It's likely that an osprey or other large bird dropped its prey while flying overhead.
Duck hawks are the fastest breed of American falcons, when they drop on their prey they attain a speed approaching 175 miles an hour.
It included a rim to keep the birds from dropping carcasses of prey on the sidewalk, a tendency that led to their eviction.
However, American Kestrels feed primarily on invertebrates (e.g. beetles and crickets [18], [56]), and instead of engaging in pursuit attacks, they make quick stooping attacks from perches or by hovering above prey item, drop down, then pin it against the ground, which may require that the image is as stable as possible.
Should environmental conditions or prey availability drop below the critical threshold, long-lived birds typically prioritise their own survival resulting in a decrease in breeding success (Erikstad et al., 1998).
Many woodland owls secure prey by dropping from perches at the edges of forest openings.
Silently, they wheeled above the beach, like sharks circling prey, and dropped en masse to feast on the eggs.
Skates feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and fishes, trapping active prey by dropping down on it from above.
The long hot day has been filled with adventure: a pride of lions stalking a warthog; a fish eagle catching, then dropping, his large wriggling prey; a nervous giraffe spreading its front legs to drink at the water hole; wild dogs panting under a tree.
If a spider walks under a P. schultzi female's capture web and the vertical distance is less than 8 centimetres, the P. schultzi often drops on to the prey too fast for a human eye to follow.
