Sorry Scott I'm not into dead chicks like you:)

I didn't pick it up but I think I know what you mean about being able to see if the neck was broken. I was about to reach down, but I'd been nursing an infected finger cut since before the trip even started, so I figured I'd give hygiene a try and leave the dead stuff alone. I just gave it a toe push and don't remember if the neck was limp or not.

Anyhow, I learned some stuff in this thread, and I got some laughs too. I suppose I'll end this with a killer pic from this trip...perhaps the best sunset ever (not photoshopped! -- credit goes to Brad Rogers):

Obviously done in by someone's unleashed dog.

Probably George Bush.

i've found that with problems, it's usually George Bush.
if it's bad, and there is no doubt a rational answer for it. we've had a good bit of success blaming George Bush.

heck .. give it a try !
... millions do.
it saves lord only knows how much actual thinking. and it's FAST !

Yeah, it was probably friggin' Barney:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_(dog)

Another vote for a merlin, "prairie" phase.

Yellow feathers = warbler or goldfinch.

Death - likely head-on collision with something solid.

It's a tie--Mike and Doug for their insights. The bird is obviously the loser here.

No obvious signs of trauma, but we have big picture windows and when the outisde reflections are strong, we get bird strikes. They don't appear "broken" in their head, neck, etc, although I haven't tried to comparing them to other dead birds.

So I'm liking the theory of it hitting a tree while engaging another bird as prey.

We think that squirrels never fall out of trees, but they do.

We think seals never drown, but they can.

We all think engineers never make mistakes, but do they do (rarely).

Yeah, bird screw up sometimes.

Doug: Touche'

I'm gonna go with a Cooper's Hawk but it would help if there was an object of known size in the photo.

Granted, we don't have Prairie Merlins in MN but from photos I see they have more (and more closely spaced) dark bands across the tail than accipiters. Also, I'm also not seeing a falcon's tomial tooth on the upper beak mandrel but the photo angle is not ideal for that.

The long toes would be found on both falcons and accipiters so that doesn't help.

So, if it IS a sharp-shinned or cooper's then the barrel shaped body argues for a cooper's (sharp-shinned are teardrop shaped, broader shoulders and narrower hips). The photo angle is not so good for seeing head shape but it appears to have the cooper's trademarked flat topped head.

Douglas,
Thanks for making my morning!!Always love to start the day off with a laugh!

No, it was the team Cheney created to blow up the WTC

They erected a wall for the bird to fly into, then quickly took down the wall and restored the site so no one would know...

Jerry:

No, Cheney was out shotgunning and mistook the bird for a lawyer.

A murder of Crow or Raven could have killed it protecting their chicks?

If the location is near where Radio controlled glider pilots are it could have tangled with a glider?

I use to fly slope gliders near where red tail hawks fly when I flew RC glider. I always kept my distance but some times the hawks would swoop down and hit my 2 to 3 pound slope gliders with a thud and the hawk would usually recover from the crash and go on to protect it territory.

Or simple answer is birds just die after a while of old age or decease?
Terry

Idester for the win!

West Nile virus? Not sure it is in WY though.
Duane

ROFL.
Doug: you nailed everyone else's responses, but not your own.

Douglas Ide: I'll just buy 3 different dead birds, see which one matches most closely, and give away the other two.

Wrong Ike

Douglas Ide: "Oh, a dead bird on the ground, I feel like creating clever poetry..."

"Mike Reid - If it's a Scottish hawk then it's probably just drunk, not dead. Did you smell its breath?"

It looks like a lesser spotted Didster Shite Hawk. :-)

The yellow probably came from the feathers on Dougs Halloween costume.