Take a walk anywhere on campus, and you’re likely to see more than a few squirrels. Red-tailed hawks, whose eyesight is eight times as acute as that of humans, see them too—and they see lunch.

“This immature bird is pretty likely the offspring of the the breeding pair of this species that inhabits the Central Campus area,” says Janet Hinshaw, collection manager in the bird division of the Museum of Zoology. “Its posture, with an open beak and low-slung wings, is typical of a bird aggressively protecting its prey.” [top photo]

“Squirrels are a favorite food, but these birds will eat most small mammals, up to the size of raccoons,” Hinshaw says.

The Museum of Zoology contains hundreds of thousands of bird specimens, as well as large holdings in other animal exhibits.

For more information, visit www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/. (Photos by Martin Vloet,
U-M Photo Services)