Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Ruffed Grouse wing

Another photo of the mystery wing, though it looks like it might belong to a Ruffed Grouse and not a Northern Pygmy-owl after all. (Note later: yes, it IS a Ruffed Grouse wing - phew!). We found the pair of wings (wingspan about 12") with the picked-clean skeleton in between, a few a days ago at Bebo Grove. Our fears were that maybe one of the tiny, rare to uncommon Northern Pygmy-owls had become a victim of perhaps a Hawk.

Imagine my shock and horror on a walk yesterday when we came across a small pair of wings with a teeny carcass in between. The bird's wingspan was about 12". This photo shows a fair bit of one wing - it's not just the tip. It couldn't possibly be one of the rare to uncommon Northern Pygmy-owls that everyone is enjoying at the moment, could it? The last ID conclusion is that this wing belongs to a Gray Partridge - yet these have never been seen in this park before. Something tells me that it's not a Gray Partridge, though. If anyone can solve this mystery for us, it would be so much appreciated, even if you have to gently break sad news to me : (. I know it's all part of Nature, but ..... Note later: it is a Ruffed Grouse wing!