Help to identify a feather

I went for a walk around a lake surrounded by woodland and farmland today and I found the feather below. There were loads of the feathers lying around the floor with crow feathers so there had obviously been a bit of an altercation. As the feather was so small I though this mustve been from a small bird but I found a dead crow lying nearby. So I'm thinking this feather mustve come from the victor and if it could kill a crow then it must be a bigger bird and maybe a predator/raptor. I've put it next to a 20p so you can see how small it is.

Can anyone here try and identify the bird

The only one I can think of PPH is a Buzzard, but TB's proberbly better at identifying Raptors
WS

It could be a pheasant feather

Lai

I think it was definately a raptor/bird of prey by the look of the crow it had been predated. I was thinking that a sparrowhawk may be a contender

No its not a Sparrow Hawk PPH I've put a photo of a Sparrow Hawk in Birds of Prey, and WS's Birds a few days ago. You can tell that the feathers are not the right colour, also I think it's to small they are only the size of a large Thrush. I suppose the feather could come from a prey bird that fought back, and injured the Crow. Then other Crows or Magpies could have been having a go at the carcass
WS

I originally thought it was a small bird because of the size of the feather and was thinking it looked like the same colour and pattern as the chest feathers of a female sparrowhawk. The problem is could a sparrowhawk be to big to fly or maneuver between the trees. Maybe a smaller bird of prey

The carcass of the crow was in pieces spread over bout a metre area of the wooded area and definitely has a look of being predated

It can fly between Trees, and in wooland this is from the RSPB
Overview
Adult males have a slate grey back and white underparts, closely barred with orange. Their grey tail has 4-5 dark bars. Females are larger, with brown upperparts, a white stripe over the eye and dark barring underneath. They look heavier than the males. Their broad, rounded wings and long tail are adapted for flying between trunks and branches enabling them to weave in and out of trees at high speed. They never hover like kestrels.

but as I said in my book it says they are the size of a large thrush, and I saw the one we have, the crows round here dwarf in, unless the Crow was on the small size I cant really see it taking one down, but perhaps your friends at the RSPB would know
WS

I am in the RSPB tomorrow and I'll have a word with one of the people who works on reserves and see if they have any ideas. It did look like quite a big and long fight happened so need to be a stronger bird as the crow (or what was left of it) didnt look that small. Im just trying to think of the birds of prey we get here in Oxfordshire that was big enough to kill the crow but small and agile enough fly through the woodland

I don't think I'll get my answer but thanks for the help

Just a quick thought while your on do you have Goshawks there
WS

I checked with a few people today in the RSPB and they said its definatly some kind of bird of prey feather. The small nature reserve where I went doesn't have much information on what birds that can be found there but there are reports of Goshawks, Sparrowhawks and the occasional Red Kite in the area.

They also said that Crows can sometimes mob Birds of Prey they come across to protect their young and maybe thats what happened here and the Crow just took on the wrong bird. I know that I once got mobbed by a Crow because I was walking a bit to close to where their fledgling was and it was not a pleasant experience

The crows and jackdaws and ravens mob our Buzzards relentlessly PPH so I bet you are right.

Lai

I have hung back on this one a bit as I'm not sure,shape and quill size suggest a scapular feather(from the "elbow" of the wing,or the shoulder if the bird is perched).
If it is then either a Buzzard(which are very feisty when young are in the nest) or a female SparrowHawk.
How ever it could be from a falconry bird like a Lanner or Saker,both of which are used to take Crows as a legal quarry.

Thanks TB for you thoughts I was'nt sure a Sparrowhawk could take a Crow because of the size difference. Ive only seen the Male in real life but I thought you might have a better idea, you could be right PPH
WS

This time of year a Sparrow Hawk may well take a juvenile Crow,I doubt it would go for a wily old adult as it may come off second best.

thanks for all the help and suggestions, I do hope whatever it was it got away not to harmed as I was worried with the amount of feathers from both birds lying around

I have a small box full of things that I think are special and its going in there. I am a huge fan of birds of prey ever since being shown a film in junior school about Peregrines over 20yrs ago

Birds of prey,by which I mean raptors fascinate me too and have done for over 50 years,to the point where I took up falconry in the 1980's. Not because they hunt and kill things,funnily(if that's the right word) I am quite upset when a Black Backed Gull takes a Puffin ,but if a raptor does it,it matters less.Now how does that work!!

I have a friend who loves old classic sports cars and I explained my fascination and love or raptors to his love of an E type Jaguar being driven around a race track. He understood that!! I find that they seem to be the most beautifully designed bird and every time I see one they it takes my breath away on how perfect they are and how its just the best nature could have produced

Been thinking about your question TB. I think looking at a Raptor, and a Great Black Backed Gull, is like Hyena against a Cheetah or Leopard. The Raptors, and Big Cats are so perfectly designed for what they do, that we get lost in the thrill of the chase, and the hunt, that it appeals to our base Hunter instincts. Where as with Animals like the Great Black Backed Gull, and the Hyena there is not that same thrill, and that allows our empathy for the prey Animal to surface. Its not the kill that excites us its the chase that gets us going. Its only a theory, but I think its worth considering

WS