Pigeon plucked by mystery attacker

MY WIFE and a lifelong school friend, walking along a west Cork road, saw a bird on the road ahead of them and, as a car approached, saw it take off, carrying another bird in its talons.

It dropped its cargo (which they, at first, thought was a rat) as it flew over the ditch and continued across a field.

What surprised them was that the corpse-carrier was no bigger than the corpse. It must have had great strength to lift it almost vertically, albeit of dropped it quite soon.