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stunned towhee?



Although it's hard to believe a bird can be merely stunned and not killed
by fast cars, here's another possible example:

Several years ago, I drove to work around 5:00 a.m. one incredibly cold
winter morning.  It was about 7 degrees (F) outside, and in the dark I saw
something in the middle of my lane.  After driving over it, I realized it
was a screech owl, got out and picked it up without any signs of life other
than feeble neck and eyelid movements.  Thinking it had been hit by a car
and was nearly dead, I put it between my legs for the ride to the office.
A few miles down the road, its talons grabbed a part of me that got my
attention in ways I could not ignore.

In a cage in my office, the bird soon warmed up and seemed just fine.  I
released it at sundown that day.

John Batson
Psychology Dept.
Furman University
Greenville SC