Thing is about those birds of prey -- they have a weird compulsion to attack turtles. It doesn't make any sense, there isn't nearly enough meat on you... but there you go.
Never accuse a bird of prey of being the world's greatest intellectual.
(The turtle of the book was actually a god, albeit without worship/strength, so had intelligence to do a great deal of high-level musing in the process, much good that it did.
)