General Discussion : aggressive chicks - is this normal?

I was just watching the mom trying to feed the chicks.  They were grabbing the food from her and fighting over it:  Tug of war big time.  She had to grab it back in order to tear off small enough pieces that they could swallow.  Then I came here to report that and saw that one had died at the hands of the others.  Since this is my first time watching kestrel chicks I do not know their habits.  I have watched many other raptor nests and never saw this extreme level of aggression and fighting.  Is this normal for this type of bird?  I do understand that it's survival of the fittest...but wow!

Posted in General Discussion by Tweety 9 years 9 months ago.