I have watched them being chased by Northern Mockingbirds when they get too close to that songbird's nest. I have also seen them fighting with the small adult ground squirrels that live here (the bird likes to sneak up to try and catch young squirrels sunning themselves)
They remind me of Velocioraptor dinosaurs when they are hunting. They regularly patrol their territory each day; I once knew an old woman in Yucca Valley who was able to entice this wild bird to eat small bits of raw hamburger out of her hands when it visited her yard... her secret was patience.
