Exhibit A: A small tailfeather, perhaps three inches long. Dark grey with a white tip. Only two locals birds could produce such a feather, a slate morth dark-eyed junco or a downy woodpecker, and the feather is far too slight for the latter. Notably, it is far too early in the season for juncos to be molting, and as migratory snowbirds they would never molt in their wintering grounds.

Exhibit B: Two more tailfeathers of the same sort, mottled and wet. It has not rained, nor were they found in a particularly wet spot. This suggests an alternate form of moisture.

Exhibit C: Down feathers. Normally kept close to the chest, these insultating feathers protet against cold Canadian summers. Like the flight feathers, unlikely to be shed this time of year.

Exhibit D: Eyewitness accounts of the suspect, a male tabby, in the vicinity of a front porch frequented by dark-eyed juncos.

Exhibit E: Previous incidences of wildlife deaths in area, including but not limited to finches, siskins, shrews, moles,and grasshoppers.

Conclusion: The DA’s office recommends indictment of the tabby cat on charges of birdslaughter, conspiracy to commit birdslaughter, and littering.

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