Abdomen-less Whitetail, LH Pond

This has been a fine year for Common Whitetail dragonflies, and I've seen so many of the handsome and striking odes that, these days, I only give them a passing glance. But this one, which I spotted while I was looking for Blue Corporals, a Species of Special Concern I'm monitoring for a state project, didn't look right, so I looked closer. What tipped me off that something was amiss was that it was flying funny: quick up-and-down flights rather than its usual zipping around. And the telltale stark white abdomen... um... where was it? Even from a distance of ten feet, I could see that it was missing. Still, the ode was flying, and when it landed, I was able to get close and assess the problem. No doubt a bird had snagged the insect from behind, and no doubt he wasn't going to be flying much longer. He didn't appear to be bleeding, and I have no way of knowing whether he was in anything approaching pain. Did he even know that his end was very, very near? Of course, his flight season was nearing its finale, so, if a predator didn't get him, he was going to be calling it a life soon anyway. I hope he got a chance to make and enable his genes to continue. I hope his final flight took place with grace and without anguish.