Other Falconry Birds Flashcards
Defining characteristics of true falcons include…
having a “toothed” or “notched” beak.
*All true falcons in the Genus: Falco have a “toothed” or “notched” beak. The “tomial teeth” are on the maxilla (upper mandible). The notches are on the lower mandible.
True or False:
Large falcons kill their prey primarily by the tremendous gripping power of their feet.
False
*Falcons are known for subduing their prey quickly by severing its spinal cord with their beak.
The hawks that dispatch their vertebrate prey by severing the spinal cord are the…
Falcons.
*The four projections on a falcon’s beak (2 upper and 2 lower) are used to shear or sever the spinal cord of their prey, sometimes with one well-placed bite that helps kill the prey quickly. The “tomial teeth” are on the maxilla (upper mandible). The notches are on the lower mandible.
The bird least likely to “slice” is the…
Peregrine Falcon.
*Slicing is the forcible discharge of excrement by Accipiters, Buteos, and Eagles; all Falcons drop their mutes straight down after they have left the eyrie.
Stick nests are not built by…
True falcons.
*They do not build their own nests. They use ledges, hollow trees, old nests of other species, and manmade structures for nesting. Caracaras and forest falcons,
however, do.
True or False:
In the case of most falcons, the male does most of the hunting for about the first two weeks after the young hatch.
True.
*When the young are quite small, the male will do most of the hunting. As the young continue to grow and their demands exceed the capability of the male to meet their needs, the falcon will also fly out in search of food.
The species that is most apt to occupy and defend the largest territory is the…
Gyrfalcon.
*Generally, the larger the bird, the more territory it needs to provide food and shelter for a nesting pair and their young. Golden Eagle territories in Europe have been measured at 16 square miles, and those of Gyrfalcons in the northern latitudes at 14 or 15 square miles. Northern Harriers, Cooper’s Hawks, and American Kestrels are not likely to require more than 1 mile. The far-ranging habits of Gyrfalcons also require more territory.
The largest of the following birds is the…
Jerkin (Gyrkin)
*There is some overlap between the male Gyrfalcon (jerkin) and the female Peregrine (falcon). However, the jerkin is on an average, larger. The male, or “jack” Merlin and the male, or “tiercel” Peregrine are both considerably smaller than either the Peregrine
Falcon or the male Gyrfalcon.
The Peregrine Falcon exists on…
all continents except Antarctica.
*Some variant of this species occurs on all continents except Antarctica, and on all major islands except New Zealand and Iceland.
A malar stripe is likely to be found on a(n)…
Peregrine Falcon.
*In any plumage, the real mark of the Peregrine is the face bar, known as the “mask” or “malar stripe.” This is a broad dark mark extending downward from the crown across the eye. Many species of falcons have this mark, but on none of them is it so well developed and as clearly marked as on the Peregrine.
True or False:
The skin and scale areas of adult Prairie Falcons and Peregrine Falcons differ from those of immature individuals.
True.
*The easiest and most reliable method of identifying a first year Prairie Falcon is by examining the skin and scale areas. As with other large falcons, the feet, cere, and eyelids of the first year birds are blue; on the adults, yellow. In most of the Northeastern American Peregrine subspecies there is a tendency for the plumage of the first year birds to be colored in shades of rich reddish brown. Adults are blue-gray above with lightness on the rump, cross-barred with darker grey. Their upper breasts are often pure white fading into salmon below.
True or False: The Peregrine Falcon has a tail relatively longer than that of a Prairie Falcon and Gyrfalcon.
False
*The Peregrine Falcon’s tail is proportionally shorter than that of the Prairie Falcon or Gyrfalcon
The incubation period for Peregrine Falcon eggs is…
33 to 34 days to hatch.
*Technological advances allowing for direct, non-invasive surveillance and the widespread establishment of breeding projects have resulted in more accurate data relating to hatching times. In many older books on birds of prey, the stated incubation periods are incorrect.
The large dark Peregrine Falcon that dwells in the Pacific Northwest from Washington State to British Columbia, Southeastern Alaska and the Aleutians is known as…
Peale’s Peregrine (Falco peregrinus pealei)
*Peale’s Peregrine Falcons are a strictly maritime subspecies dwelling along the Pacific Northwest coast from Washington State to Alaska.
What does Assateague mean to the North American falconer?
a major concentration point on the eastern migration route of the Tundra Peregrine.
*Around 1935, certain Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland falconers discovered migrating Tundra Peregrines where they touched down on the Virginia and Maryland Barrier Islands. For years these islands (including Assateague) furnished a large portion
of the wild caught peregrines taken in North America. Young Peregrines migrate from the arctic to South America, as far south as Tierra del Fuego.
