Wild Bird 683 - Little Raven

The Little Raven (Corvus mellori) is the default corvid found in Melbourne - and it is simply called a crow by many people.  Other species of Raven do occur in Victoria, but it is really unusual to see them in or close to Melbourne.

I saw this bird fly into a tree at Jells Park, a 'reserve' about 20 minutes from my house.  At first I thought it was carrying a mouse, but once I had a better look I came to the conclusion that the small mammal it was eating is in fact a young Ring-tailed Possum.  The pink tip to the tail is a bit of an identification give away.

I am not sure if the bird had predated the possum directly, or if it was an item of carrion that the bird had found.  Both explanations are plausible, and fit within the known diet of the bird.

Just before the raven flew off, it wedged the remains of the possum into a v-shaded cleft in a branch, presumably to store it for future consumption.

Birds are great, but it's not always colour and beauty that we see in them.

Hope people are OK with these fascinating, if gory, images.  

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