Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Birds of Prey Hunting Crows in Winter



The bird of prey is described as a falcon, but I am not sure that is the raptor in question. I am not sure a falcon can carry a camera (a question of size), and as a rule they hunt in a different manner than this.  It also appears there are two birds hunting as a pair, which makes me think Harris Hawk. Thoughts?

2 comments:

  1. Mark Farrell-Churchill1:47 PM

    Yes, definitely falcons. The stoop that begins at 0:10 and ends at 0:20, for example, is more or less diagnostic, and the sustained pursuits throughout are as well: accipiters haven't usually the endurance for this sort of chase, and buteos haven't the speed.

    Also, if you hit pause at 0:36 you can see the pointed wings typical of Falco.

    Long-winged hawks (falcons) can, if acclimated to one another's company, be flown in casts, and have been for centuries. Crow-hawking in particular is usually done with a cast; see Dr. Nick Fox's book Classical Hawking, devoted entirely to the pursuit of corvids with falcons.

    Awe-inspiring footage, by the way. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PBurns10:06 AM

    J writes that these two birds are a pair of male gyrfalcon/Saker falcon hybrids. The entire camera rig is only 20g (the weight of 4 nickels) so they can even put back-mounted camera on peregrines. Amazing!

    More here at the Journal of Experimental Biology >> http://jeb.biologists.org/content/217/2/225.full

    ReplyDelete

All comments are moderated, and all zombies, trolls, time wasters, and anonymous cowards will be shot.

If you do not know what that means, click here and read the whole thing.

If you are commenting on a post, be sure to actually read the post.

New information, corrections, and well-researched arguments are always appreciated.

- The Management