Fig. 2. Evidence that the path of the dislodged prey followed the rules of simple ballistics, with negligible air resistance and initial vertical velocity. For each of the two initial prey heights h used in this study, h=20 cm (left; N=43 shots) and h=40 cm (right; N=50 shots), the horizontal distance d travelled by the prey is plotted as a function of its initial horizontal velocity _hor. Dotted lines show the distance d=_hor(2h/g)^1/2 (g=9.81 ms^-2) predicted, assuming that there were no frictional effects and no initial vertical velocity.

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