Found it in the Results section:
> On average, 83% of captures were consumed by the cats (88% of invertebrates, 79% of reptiles and amphibians, 78% of mammals and 50% of birds) and the remaining items were left at the site of predation.
Right. Feathers and bones don't digest well.
I think they meant the cat left 50% of birds completely alone. Not that they ate 50% of the mass of every bird. This is based on owning an outdoor cat and having it bring intact corpse trophies to the door.
Re:A Single Male Cat’s Reign of Terror
by TulliusCicero on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @05:37PM
(#20578842)
Was gonna say, 83 percent sounds better than humans.
Re:A Single Male Cat’s Reign of Terror
by xkcd-sucks on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @11:29PM
(#20580860)
Most times I've seen mammals eating other mammals, they consistently leave behind what looks like the stomach and maybe some guts. Often it's very cleanly removed, and piled with other inedible bits like tails and paws
Oddly, the abstract linked from that quote doesn't say that, but says:
> Eighty-three percent of kills occurred between dusk and dawn.
Though it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't fully consume every kill. Sometimes I don't clean my plate at restaurants, either.