General Flashcards
Hawks belonging to the genus Accipiter are also known as…
Short Wings
Three things generally true regarding male raptors:
3 Points
- first to return from migration
- chose the nesting area
- provides most of the food after the young have hatched
A raptor tends to reach full size . . .
when they leave the nest
Name three species of raptor that exhibit sexual dimorphism.
3 Points
- Kestrel
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Peregrine
A relaxed hawk is likely to . . .
Preen, raise and tuck one foot, and rouse
What factor is most important in determining what raptor any falconer should fly?
The availability of prey suitable for that raptor
The terms “passage,” “imprint,” and “chamber” describe…
How the raptor was raised
All “raptors” includes species of the order or orders…
Strigiformes and Falconiformes
The term “raptor” includes all…
Hawks and Owls
Is Accipitridae an ‘order’?
No. Accipitridae is the largest family of hawks
and eagles within the order Falconiformes, but it is not an “order”.
Desertion of the nest by adult raptors is most likely to occur…
Just prior to egg laying
Do raptors leave the nest after they have laid their eggs?
Once the eggs are laid, most raptors, though not all, are likely to stick with their clutch,
despite disturbances.
True or False:
If the first clutch of eggs is destroyed soon after being laid, many hawks and falcons will lay a second clutch.
True.
*This tendency has been used by raptor propagators to maximize the progeny of breeding pairs. The system is called “double clutching.” Caution: some raptors, if
disturbed on eggs in the wild, will abandon their nests and close down their reproductive systems for the season.
A falconer is most likely to encounter a “brancher” of a species of hawk or falcon in…
June
What is a ‘brancher’?
A brancher is a young hawk that has left the nest or eyrie, but has not left the immediate vicinity.
*In New York, a falconer will most likely encounter a brancher of the species of hawks or falcons used in falconry in June. Great Horned Owls typically breed in January or February (depending on geographical location), so branchers of this species would be encountered earlier than June (February or March).
There is an observed trend of young avian predators (particularly falcons), shortly after leaving the care of an adult, to begin taking quarry considerably larger than is the norm for adults of the same species. The three likely reasons for this are:
(3 Points)
- the youngsters are still growing and need more food than adults
- the young birds are stronger and can out-compete their elders for larger, more nutritious prey
- more skill is required to catch a smaller bird
*Certain principles of aerodynamics dictate that any bird lighter than a raptor that is chasing it can, if the wing loading is even approximately the same, always turn inside the turning radius of the larger, heavier bird. This factor operates very powerfully for a few months, but as the raptor develops flying skill and dexterity, smaller and less dangerous quarry are taken with increasing frequency.
The bird most likely to breed naturally in captivity is…
a raptor (parent)-raised eyas;
*Raptor-raised eyases are the most successful captive breeders. Captive bred raptors have produced significant numbers of young in the United States.
Male and female hawks can be determined in most species by…
the larger size of the females;
*In most species the coloration of the sexes is similar. Speeds probably don’t differ between the sexes, but especially in the bird-eating species, there is a great difference in the size between males and females. Males of some species are one-third smaller than the females.
Falconiforms in immature plumage appear to be…
larger than when they become adults;
*The juvenile flight feathers tend to be longer than the adult feathers to compensate for the less developed muscles and less ossified bones. This may give immature birds the appearance of being larger.
In Buteo, Parabuteo, and Accipiter, molting of the primary wing feathers…
starts with the inner most primary (ornithologically number 1) and proceeds in sequence to the outermost primary (ornithologically number 10).
*The correct answer for the genus Falco would be c. Caution: The critical word here is “ornithologically.” Historically, falconers counted primaries just the opposite. What is ornithologically number 1 is, to some falconers, number 10. However, most modern
falconry literature counts according to the ornithological method.
Haggards
Adult raptors
Haggards (adults) are not taken for falconry because…
they are nature’s breeding stock and should be allowed to function as such.
*Young birds of prey have more than a 70% mortality rate before they reach breeding age. The consensus of falconers and regulators in the United States is that those birds that have survived to adulthood should be allowed to remain in the wild as part of the breeding population.
True or False:
Hawks and falcons hunt by sight and hearing; their sense of smell is not
well developed.
True
One is most likely to find the “cere”…
on the head of a raptor
Cere
The waxy yellow, blue, grey, or green skin at the top of the beak in which the nostrils are situated.
Tarsus
The tarsus is that part of the leg which extends from the foot upward to the first joint. It is the portion where jesses and bewits are attached.
A bird’s “train” is it’s…
Tail
“Deck” feathers are…
the central pair of tail feathers
A good indication of completed growth in eyases is when the bird is…
full summed OR hard penned
Hard-penned
Hard-penned and full summed are synonymous. They mean that the blood has withdrawn from the newly grown large feathers of the wings and tail, and that the
feathers have hardened.
Full summed
Hard-penned and full summed are synonymous. They mean that the blood has withdrawn from the newly grown large feathers of the wings and tail, and that the
feathers have hardened.
Your bird is likely to “mantle”…
when standing over quarry
to mantle
Both a) the stretching of one wing and one leg on the same side, which is an indication that the bird is relaxed and contented,
and b) the spreading of wings and tail over food or quarry, which is a defensive behavior used to
conceal food from other animals.
A bird that is very comfortable with its surroundings and has a full crop is likely to…
rouse
Rouse
an action common to all birds in which all the feathers are slowly erected, the bird shakes itself and the feather then slowly settle back into place.
*It is considered a sign of tameness and well-being.
Gorge
permitting a hawk to eat all it can, until it refuses to eat more.
Hack
the state of complete liberty sometimes permitted to eyases during the first few weeks after they can fly.
Rangle
pertains to small stonesgiven orally to a hawk.
A bird is likely to “preen”…
2 Points
- following a bath
2. when it is content
Preen
describes a birds’ behavior in straightening and dressing its feathers. It is a sign of a well-adjusted raptor.
*A bird will often preen following a bath, or when it is content and comfortable.
Cast
the indigestible portions of a raptor’s meal, usually the bones and feathers of their prey, which are formed into a compact pellet and disgorged through the mouth.
*The word, “cast,” is also used to mean two raptors of the same species flown together, of either sex.
One also “casts” a bird to immobilize it.
Enseam
to prepare a hawk for flying by eliminating her reserves of fat.
*Today it may refer to the practice of feeding washed meat. The medieval term referred to certain purges (e.g. rangle) given to a hawk which were supposed to rid it of excess fat and mucus, thus making it more eager to fly
To “put over” a crop
the action of a raptor when, by movements of the neck and shoulders, it forces food from the crop into the stomach.
*A crop has been “put away” when all the food in the crop has been moved into the stomach.
A hawk or falcon is most likely to “put over” its crop…
just after eating
A bird is most likely to “feak”…
just after a meal
Feak
the action of a raptor wiping its beak against the perch or on the glove after feeding.
Austringer
means one who keeps and hunts with the accipiters.
*It is derived from the Latin “aster,” the former generic name for the Goshawk.
A passager or passage hawk is…
a raptor taken on its first migration
Crabbing
a clash or fight between falcons or hawks.
*Sometimes it happens in the air, sometimes on the ground over captured quarry.
Strike
3 points
Has several meanings:
- used to describe the moment of impact.
- “Striking the braces” is the act of loosening the braces of a hood.
- “Striking the hood” is the act of removing the hood from the hawk or falcon.
Rake away
used to describe a flight at quarry or to the falconer that is aborted.
*The bird flies toward an intended target and then suddenly changes course away from that target.
Intermewed
a bird that has been kept a full year.
*Literally it means “interval in the mews” referring to the summer period of inactivity in the mews during which time a hawk molts. Hence, an intermewed hawk is a hawk that has been molted in captivity.
Bowsing
Drinking water
A bird that is “keen” could also be said to be . .
3 Points
- hungry
- sharp-set
- ready to kil
A slip is best described as . . .
3 Points
- chance at quarry
- release of a short wing after quarry
- the flight of a short wing after quarry
