Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to CHIL EagleCAM. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Discussion of other Raptor species; their anatomy, biology, ecology, etc.
Topic Started: Sep 16 2007, 11:04 AM (18,121 Views)
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Raptorman,Nov 19 2007
12:39 AM
You may wish to click on the link to the Harris Hawks voice on the following page (very crow like):

Harris Hawk Vocalization


Sounds like it's either got asthma or it's choking on something :D It's interesting to consider whether the Harris might have a more complex variety of vocalizations (not necessarily evident to human ears) to support the communication needs of a more complex social structure (for example consider social canines like wolves).
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Raptorman
Advanced Member
edit
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Today's possible raptor sighting :D - I was sitting in my doctor's office waiting for my appointment this morning (her office is on the 10th floor of this office building in central-west Toronto) and as I was looking out the window a bird went zipping by that wasn't one of the usual pigeons - I think it may have been a peregrine. It certainly had the general shape of a falcon and had the kind of narrow pointed wings that you would associate with a peregrine. It's head seemed to be dark as well similar to a peregrine's although it was only in sight for a few seconds. I don't believe it was chasing anything specific, but it was flying level to the ground (not in a stoop or anything) with rapid, but very shallow wingbeats. If it was a falcon, the peregrine is the only one I've heard of reported in the urban areas of the city.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Raptorman,Nov 19 2007
02:54 PM
It may be possible but in my experiences with them they don't seem to make a much greater variety of vocalizations than other raptors I have listened to for years, including the breeding chamber. Many other social birds don't have a complex language. I'm not sure their hearing extends beyond ours or their vocalizations. Body language may be more complex through. Bill :D

In general, it may not be necessarily be a question of being able to vocalize or perceive vocalizations that are outside the range of human perception - a given species may also be able to perceive information in those vocalizations that aren't obvious to another species. For example, we perceive human speech as being composed of distinct words that have gaps between them - it turns out though that this doesn't actually exist in the sound - it is our brains that are hardwired to break speech sounds down that way. So to another species listening to humans talk, it would sound like a big continuous mess (and this is also why listening to a foreign language often sounds like that). So when considering another species there's always a chance that it is capable of communicating something to others of its species that isn't evident to us.

There could be two situations in which the Harris might benefit from some form of vocal communication - one would be in communicating social relationships (i.e. dominance or status in the group, territory, mates etc), and the other would be when hunting (i.e. to coordinate chasing/trapping/catching they prey). Of course if the Harris doesn't tend to vocalize in these types of situations then that would be very unlikely in the context of the Harris.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Here's an interesting piece of information from the Wikipedia page on the Harris:

Harris Hawk

Quote:
 
Aside from falconry, Harris's Hawk is now widely used in European towns to scare pigeons and starlings. Many airports employ falconers to scare these birds away from the land around runways and reduce the risk of birdstrikes on planes. A Harris Hawk, for example, was hired in the summer of 2007 to keep seagulls away from the pitch at BMO Field, home of Toronto FC (emphasis added).


I guess it's a good thing the Harris is willing to participate in the hunt even when they're not hungry, since in Toronto they'd have to be willing to eat an awful lot of seagulls...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Raptorman
Advanced Member
edit
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
I spotted a beautiful raptor this morning while I was driving along one of the main city streets close to home - it was pretty low and flying directly overhead coming from the opposite direction so I got a good view of it. Driving though so no pictures :D

Bill, hopefully the work on identification is helping :D, because this time I was able to clearly spot the dark patagial marks on the underside of the wings, so I believe that would definitively identify it as a red-tail. It looked pretty light colored overall other than that, so I would guess it was an immature. It did have a bit of an unusual flight pattern for a red-tail, it was flapping several times with medium wingbeats and then gliding and then flapping again. We've got a rather strong wind today, so I wonder if it was experiencing a strong headwind.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Raptorman,Nov 22 2007
11:17 PM
Because of the Harris ease of handling by humans they have been used for several decades in the capacity of "pest control" (certainly not just in Europe). The first female I bred had been used for several years on a military base in Ontario as a clearance bird. Their willingness to gang hawk further increases their value at airport clearance.


Is there a specific reason why gang hawking is useful for airport bird control? I gather it's not actually necessary that the raptors catch the undesirable birds but simply ensure that their presence causes them to move away from the area. That might include them being chased by the raptor but not necessarily caught?

I think one of the links you posted Bill mentioned that the Harris will participate in hunting even when an individual bird has fed and is not hungry, which is very unusual for raptors (presumably this is part of the social behaviour - participation in a hunt when not hungry is similarly reciprocated by other birds when the roles are reversed). Perhaps that is helpful in this application?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Patti
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Excuse me for barging in...I've been very tied up with my mother's affairs, but think about this thread everyday.

I saw a Red-t up close, the underside while soaring, on Wednesday while driving from my house. It was a classic view, just like the Sibley cover. Then saw a pair of them farther down the road. Suspect it was the same bird moving along, but didn't see the 2nd bird thru my windshield. They may be common, but up close that underside is awesome. It made my day.

I will try to catch up here today or tomorrow.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Raptorman
Advanced Member
edit
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Okay, here's a video which I think is a must watch for all of us on this thread:

Birds Of Prey Are Cool

That isn't you singing is it Bill? :D
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
SoCal Lady
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
ostrich2,Nov 24 2007
09:26 PM
Okay, here's a video which I think is a must watch for all of us on this thread:

Birds Of Prey Are Cool

  That isn't you singing is it Bill?  :D

:><: Ostrich2----- What a great find and a terrific fun resource!! :><:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Michele
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
ostrich2,Nov 24 2007
08:26 PM
Okay, here's a video which I think is a must watch for all of us on this thread:

Birds Of Prey Are Cool

  That isn't you singing is it Bill?  :D

To coin a phrase, "Birds of Prey" was cool.... ;) :)^ :><:

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
SheilaSB
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Ostrich 2 - Thanks for alerting us to the "Birds of Prey" video in Chat - don't always get to read all of raptor discussions - love the song and pics.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Raptorman
Advanced Member
edit
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · What are your questions? · Next Topic »
Add Reply