Little Ravens 'Corvus mellori' hunt, kill and eat individuals of two species of shorebird

The Little Raven <i>Corvus mellori</i> is an omnivore that occasionally eats small birds. Most birds taken are thought to be eaten as carrion, though several records exist of ravens hunting and killing Budgerigars <i>Melopsittacus undulates</i> and a Spotted Turtle-Dove <i>Streptopelia chinensis</i> (Higgins et al. 2006). Both cases of bird depredation record Little Ravens attacking from above and stabbing prey to death with their beaks. Here, we report a pair of Little Ravens hunting, killing and eating a lone Sharp-tailed Sandpiper <i>Calidris acuminita</i> at Cheetham Wetlands, near Melbourne, Victoria (37° 53' 56"S, 144° 47' 33"E; 420 ha; see Antos et al. 2007 for a description). We also report an event which strongly implies they hunted and ate an adult Red-capped Plover <i>Charadrius ruficapillus</i>, and observations of hunting and eating eggs and chicks.