At what point in “New York, New York” did Frank Sinatra touch on the large rats getting scooped up by Red-tailed hawks in broad daylight?
I’d imagine that those lyrics were probably left on the cutting room floor, but if Ol’ Blue Eyes would have left them in, he would’ve accurately predicted what played out in this shocking video.
The footage below was captured back in 2015, and shows a Red-tailed hawk keeping watch over a landscaping area in New York City’s Tompkins Square.
According to this clip, the little piece of green within Manhattan is enough space for predatory birds to do some hunting. New York City is famous for its rich selection of food, and that apparently even goes for hawks that call the city home.
This Red-tailed hawk (who is apparently named Christo) had plenty to choose from as it was perched on a fence in the park. Squirrels, mice, pigeons, and other small birds all frequent the park, but there was one type of animal that Christo was looking for that fateful day: Rats.
NYC’s newly appointed Rat Czar would be proud to know that this Red-tailed hawk is passing up squirrels that are literally right next to it (as you’ll see in the video) and strictly going for a NYC-rat-based diet.
As city sounds fill the air and sirens go wailing past, this bird of prey was not phased one bit. The Red-tailed hawk was absolutely LOCKED in, and kept its eyes set out in front of it in search of an unsuspecting rat.
When the time was just right, the hawk dive bombs a passing rat and has the rodent squeezed within its talons in a matter of seconds. That rat squeals as the big bird flies back up to the spot on the fence it formerly occupied to finish the job.
The hawk stoically sat on top of the park fence until the sizable rat finally stopped squirming, and eventually flew off with the rodent in tow to a tree top to chow down.
Who said you couldn’t experience the thrill of nature living in the big city? This park goer certainly did, and got it all on camera for the rest of us to enjoy.
Check it out:
