A common kestrel mistook a drone for prey and attacked it while a journalist operated it to capture stunning landscapes in southern China.

Video filmed at Jiutianfenglian Scenic Spot in Zhangjiajie City in Hunan Province on May 10, shows a common kestrel diving towards the drone as it flew through the sky, before snatching it and throwing it into the forest.

The journalist named Zhang Xue said: "We didn't know it was a common kestrel until we watched the video in slow motion. We could clearly see the propellers of the drone rotating, so it didn't take long for the common kestrel to grab the drone and throw it into the forest."

Zhang and her team searched for the drone, but the rugged terrain made it difficult to find. However, on May 11, a group of adventurers from the Blue Sky Rescue Team eventually found the drone and returned it to Zhang.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

5月10日上午，在湖南张家界九天峰恋景区，桑植县融媒体中心记者张雪女士，正在操控无人机拍摄雨后云雾中的石英砂岩峰林美景时，一只“猛禽”把无人机当成了入侵的猎物，扑向无人机，无人机镜头正好记录下了捕猎的全过程。
画面显示，无人机穿越纵深达数百米的石柱群时，远处有一模糊的小黑点迅速靠近，迅速接近无人机的黑点为一只猛禽，靠近无人机时，猛禽黄色利爪直直地伸向了无人机。随后，这只猛禽将无人机抛在树林里。慢放镜头回放发现，老鹰在接近无人机时，还做了较大幅度的转圈，像是捕获猎物前，为迷惑猎物做的姿态调整。
专家对无人机拍摄视频的研判初步认定，画面中的猛禽是国家二级保护动物红隼。据了解，红隼捕食一般在白天，经常在空中盘旋，搜寻地面上的老鼠、雀形目鸟类、松鼠等小型脊椎动物。
张雪女士介绍，“慢放才知道是一只老鹰，还能清晰看到无人机螺旋桨在旋转，所以它抓住无人机没多久，就把无人机抛在了树林中。”
无人机被带走后，张雪和同事迅速向最后的定位寻找，因为是原始森林公园，四周山高林密，在经过一个多小时的攀爬后，他们靠近了定位点，但因为面前陡峭的岩壁和高大的林木，在没有专业工具帮助下实在无法继续靠近寻找。
5月11日中午，在蓝天救援队探险爱好者的帮助下，最终搜寻找回了无人机。