Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember
reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities"
if dead birds were found. I cannot remember the details (sorry), but
it was regarding a virus moving west.

Wet Nile Virus, pretty much over most of the U.S. now, including most western
states. If the bird had feathers all around it, though, it sounds like it was
killed. You can usually tell the difference between a bird that just dropped
dead and a bird killed by a cat. Personally, I wonder why we don't see more
dead birds laying around. There are zillions of birds and they only live a
year or 2 naturally, so where are their bodies? In rural areas, I suppose
predators get them but in big cities, etc., I don't know where they go. I
seldom see a dead bird in my neighborhood but there a ton of living ones. I
don't think cats generally eat an animal that has died of natural causes and we
don't have any natural predators in our neighborhood.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)