The researchers were able to determine the height of the deadly attack because a Dutch-Swedish research team had equipped the coastal bird with a transmitter. When the altitude reading suddenly dropped and the transmitter was later found near a peregrine falcon's nest in Skåne, the researchers knew what had happened. It is the first time a bird of prey attack at such a high altitude has been confirmed.
The high-altitude hunt also sheds new light on the migration patterns of birds. One theory is that they fly at high altitudes to regulate their heat balance, but the new study, published in the journal The Ecology, suggests that the threat from birds of prey may be a more important factor than previously thought.
"Previously, there was no evidence that birds of prey regularly hunt at such high altitudes. Now we know that peregrine falcons can successfully hunt at really high altitudes, and then migratory birds, which already fly very high, must fly even higher to escape," says biology professor Åke Lindström at Lund University in a press release.
