Fox cub and pigeon

There are many foxes in my area. They are obviously well fed and ignore the pigeons that are frequently on the ground close to the foxes. The pigeons obviously feel safe. Normally birds would be prey for foxes. The Woodland Trust says that "Urban foxes will also scavenge for food in dustbins, and often catch pigeons and rats."

This May I've been watching 5 fox cubs, belonging to 2 mothers. They first make an appearance in mid May, when the mothers bring them out from the den, to teach them about life. They are particularly playful as well as noisy when squabbling over food.

I was interested to see one cub stalking a pigeon and then chasing it. I've never seen an adult fox do this, so the behaviour must be natural in the cubs, they haven't seen their parents do it. Normally the pigeons are content to look for food very close to the adult foxes, as the latter don't bat an eyelid.

So I was horrified one morning to see a large cluster of pigeon feathers on the ground. It was quite far away and I couldn't see a body, or any blood. So I don't know if the pigeon escaped, or if the carcass was taken away and eaten. There were so many feathers that I imagine the pigeon didn't survive. I would guess it was one of the fox cubs who did this, as I've never seen an adult bother about the birds.