American Marten (Martes americana) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) simultaneously attack Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

A Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) was observed following an American Marten (Martes americana). The marten’s attempts to capture a Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) forced the squirrel into the open where the goshawk repeatedly attempted to capture it as the marten chased it through the tre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Main Authors: Graves, Brent, Petschke, Suzanne
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/3005
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.3005
Description
Summary:A Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) was observed following an American Marten (Martes americana). The marten’s attempts to capture a Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) forced the squirrel into the open where the goshawk repeatedly attempted to capture it as the marten chased it through the trees. Attacks on prey flushed by heterospecific predators have been reported for a few other raptors, but this type of interaction has not been reported previously for either goshawks or martens.