Hooded crows are believed to be behind a spate of attacks on newborn lambs on a farm in Northern Ireland.
Last week, the Press and Journal reported Gerald McLaughlin, who farms in the Sperrin Mountains, near Feeney, Dungiven, has had newborn lambs attacked and their tongues cut out on his farm for the past two weeks.
Now, a suckler cow farmer in the area believes the culprit to be grey crows, also known as hooded crows.
The farmer, who prefers to remain anonymous, had some cows calving on land that neighbours that of Mr McLaughlin.
He said about a month ago he had a cow calving itself on the hill.
The farmer said: “The cow managed to calve herself no problem, but before I had time to reach the newborn calf I saw grey crows hovering around the calf.
“By the time I got to the calf the crows had attacked and I discovered the animal’s tongue was missing.”
The farmer believes the crows are targeting newborn animals on that particular hill in the area.
The hooded or grey crow is closely related to the carrion crow, which until recently was regarded as the same species.
In areas where the two species overlap there may be some interbreeding with hybrids showing a mixed grey and black body plumage.
Like carrion crows, hoodies also feed on dead animals. Unlike crows they can be more sociable in the feeding habits and groups of them may be seen together in fields.
They are most likely found in north and west Scotland, Northern Ireland and on the Isle of Man, where it replaces the carrion crow.