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Raptor: 1) a plunderer 2) a raptorial bird
(Webster's unabridged dictionary)
Falconry: a long history:
earliest recorded about 4000 years ago, in China
supposedly introduced into Europe by the Crusaders,though Aristotle wrote about it
introduced to England in about 860 A. D.
in the 1600ıs, there were a set of rules of ownership - only certain social classes could own a particular type of bird:- Emperors: Eagles
- Kings and Queens: Gyrfalcons
- Earls: Peregrine Falcons
- Yeoman: Goshawk
- Lady: Merlin
- Priest: ³Sparrow Hawk² (Sharp-shinned Hawk)
- ³to a knave or servant, the useless kestral²
Why are Raptors popular?
They have power, grace, beauty and the history of being ³Royal² birdsWhat are the Birds of Prey:
They have raptorial (=grasping, siezing, holding) feet
All are carnivores
Order Strigiformes: the ³Nocturnal Birds of Prey²: the Owls
Order Falconiformes: the ³Diurnal Birds of Prey²: the Old World Vultures, Eagles, Hawks and Falcons
Order Cicconiiformes (in part): the New World VulturesThe smallest birds of prey are the Falconets of southeast Asia (Genus Microheirax)
The largest bird of prey is the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) the largest flying bird
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Raptor books of potential interest.
Raptor related gifts
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The Owls (Order Strigiformes):
mostly night hunters
hunt by sound, have a facial disk to direct sound toward their ears, and their ears are off set - one is slightly higher than the other. This allows hearing in three dimensions. We have to cock our heads slightly to get the same effect in order to tell whether a sound is above or below us.
adapted to silent flight have feathered feet and soft feathers to muffle the sound of air moving over them.Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)- diet includes: mice, rats, rabbits, owls, the only animal to regularly eat skunks
- habitat: forest, plains, almost anywhere
- predators: automobiles, eagles
- nests: tree hollows, old eagle and hawk nests
- notes: "horns" are tufts of feathers, not ears or tru horns
Western Screech Owl (Otus kennicottii)- diet includes: mice
- habitat: forest, plains, almost anywhere, often denser foliage than Great Horned, shyer
- predators: Great Horned Owls
- nests: tree hollows
Barn Owl (found world wide) (Tyto alba)- diet includes: mice, rats, shrews, any small mammal
- habitat: now most common in cities and around human habitation
- predators: automobiles
- nests: attics, barns, silos and tree hollows
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Diurnal Birds of Prey:
Wing types show differences in the way they make a living. The three primary types are:- long broad soaring wing (Vultures, Eagles, Redtails)
- short round flapping wing, manuverable (Cooperıs Hawk)
- long tapered zooming wing (Falcons)
General adaptations:
eye: fovea lateralis increases the accuety of vision, overhanging brow shades the ey from the sun
sense of smell in some vultures, particularly the Turkey Vulture is accute. New World Vultures (Order Cicconiiformes):Turkey Vulture (Buzzard) (Coragyps attratus):- eats carrion
- habitat: open country
- predators: man
- nests: trees, cliffs
- range: western hemisphere south of the line between Brittish Columbia - New Jersey to Tierra del Fuego
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus):- eats carrion (will not eat anything alive)
- habitat: open country
- predators: man
- nests: cliffs, trees
- range: San Diego Wild Animal Park (in the Condorminium), Los Angeles Zoo, there are reintroduction efforts underway. The number of California Condors in the wild varies from time to time.
- notes: largest flying bird at 22lbs, 9 1/2 foot wing span,
Hawks (Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae):
Red-tailed Hawk (Buzzard) (Buteo jamaicensis):- eats mice, rats, birds, reptiles
- habitat: open country, a soaring bird
- predators: Eagles
- nests: large stick nests in trees
- range: northern hemisphere, South America
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)- eats mice, rats, reptiles
- habitat: open country
- predators: eagles
- nests: trees
- range: California, west coast of Mexican mainland (not Baja penninsula), U. S. east of Rockies (three subspecies)
Eagles (Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae):
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos):- eats mice, rats, rabbits, carrion, birds, reptiles
- habitat: open country
- predators: man
- nests: cliffs, large stick nests in trees
- range: northern hemisphere
Bald Eagle (American eagle, fish eagle, sea eagle) (Haliaeetus pelagicus):- eats fish, birds
- habitat: near water (winters in SLO county at Lake Naciemento and Lake San Antonio, also at Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County. These are also good places to see Golden Eagles and Osprey).
- predators: are you kidding?
- nests: cliffs, large stick nests in trees, breeds in the Northern part of the range
Falcons (Order Falconiformes, Family Falconidae):American Kestral (Sparrow Hawk) (Falco sparverius):- eats insects, mice (often hovers)
- habitat: open fields
- predators: Hawks, Falcons
- nests: holes in trees
Peregrine Falcon
("Wandering" Falcon) (Falco peregrinus):- eats birds
- habitat: open country, locally near ocean, cities
- predators: man
- nests: cliffs, high rises
- notes: Though it has been claimed that this is the fastest terrestrial organism, reaching over 200 mph in stoop (power dive after prey) it is more likely that is incorrect and the true speed is something like 90 miles per hour. Became extinct in eastern U. S. until reintroduction, in early 1970ıs there was only one pair breeding in California at Morro Rock in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County.
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