College of Veterinary Medicine

Raptor Club & Rehabilitation Program

Radar 


  

Joined the club in 2008.
 
Radar is a male gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), pronounced "jeer-falcon," and prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) hybrid.  Unlike almost all of the other birds in the club, Radar was born in captivity.  For the first ten years of his life, he was owned and flown by a devoted falconer, but in 2008 was attacked by another bird being kept by the falconer at the time.  The other bird attempted to pull Radar underneath a doorjamb, in the process scalping Radar and damaging his right wing severely enough that he can no longer fly well enough to hunt.  The falconer, unable to give him the care he now requires, surrendered him to the club.
 
Hybrid falcons are exceptionally rare in the wild, although they have been spotted occasionally.  Much more commonly, hybrids are a result of humans crossing two species for use in the hunting sport falconry, which is the art of taking live quarry using trained raptors.  Hybrids are most often made in an attempt to maximize traits specific to different species, such as speed, loyalty, size, hardiness, and the passion to pursue and hunt.
 
Prairie falcons are native to the western part of North America, and are approximately the size of a peregrine falcon (approximately 720 grams, give or take depending upon gender).  They can be distinguished from peregrines, as prairie falcons are a sandy brown on the back, the same sandy color mottled on their fronts, while peregrines are a distinctive blue-gray color instead.  In flight, a distinctive dark "wing pit" area distinguishes prairie falcons from other falcons.  Like all falcons, prairie falcons posses' malar stripes, pointed wings, dark eyes, a falcons tooth on each side of the beak, and specialized tubes in the nostril that assist with breathing during dives.
 
They are found most typically in wide open ranges, often arid, such as deserts or prairie ranges.  Like most falcons they do not migrate, although they will shift throughout their range as the seasons change.
 
Prey consists of birds, which are caught in midair, and small mammals.  Prairie falcons are highly versatile hunters, and will attack in several different ways at many different kinds of prey.  Their hunting style is primarily to skim at high speed roughly about a meter from the ground, hoping to flush quarry, which they will then pursue using a range of attack styles.  Like a peregrine falcon, they can attack from a stoop dive, but this is less common.
 
Prairie falcons nest on flat ledges in medium to high cliff faces, which they prefer to be facing south or southwest.  When looking for prairie falcons, the presence of whitewash (from the mutes, or feces, of the bird) on the cliff face and blowflies (accumulated around discarded food) will indicate birds in residence.
 
Gyrfalcons are the largest falcon in the world, comparable in size to large red-tailed hawks (males between 800-1300 grams and females between 1400-2100 grams), and can be found in the northern and near-arctic parts of the US and Canada, Europe and Asia.  Like many other raptor species, gyrfalcons can be variable in coloration, some individuals being nearly black and others nearly white.  More commonly, they are a heavily spotted dark gray down the back with dark gray speckles on the front.  The more northern the population, the lighter the population tends to be.  Like all falcons, gyrfalcons posses' malar stripes, pointed wings, dark eyes, a falcons tooth on each side of the beak, and specialized tubes in the nostril that assist with breathing during dives.
 
Gyrfalcons prefer to live in open tundra and mountains, with a few tree present and cliffs.  Like most other falcons, gyrfalcons are sedentary throughout the year and do not migrate, although they will move throughout their range and the seasons change.
 
Gyrfalcons prefer to hunt in open areas with a few trees, and typical quarry consists of medium size birds such as ptarmigan, grouse, pheasants, ducks and geese, although they can and will take rabbits and snowshoe hares in a pinch.  They are extremely tenacious hunters, and will chase their quarry upwards of several miles before giving up.  They have a unique horizontal-diagonal attack pattern when hunting birds.  They will rapidly accelerate until they are alongside their prey, and then will slash diagonally across the back, and if they miss will simply have moved to the other side of their quarry.  They repeat this zigzag pattern until the prey is caught.
 
Gyrfalcons are one of the most traditional birds used in falconry, and are the most highly prized, both in days past and today.  They were so valuable that they were given as gifts to heads of states and kinds, and were used to pay ransom on kidnapped nobles.  For example:  during the crusades in 1396, the Duke of Burgundy's son was ransomed for twelve Greenland gyrfalcons; also during the crusades, King Richard the Lionhearted took his birds with him, and when he was captured part of his ransom was two of his white gyrfalcons; and the Ottoman Sultan named Beyazid kidnapped the son of Philip the Bold, and instead of accepting a ransom of 200,000 gold ducats instead took twelve white gyrfalcons and a jeweled gauntlet paid for by Carl VI of France.  Gyrfalcons were and are prized for their size, ability and willingness to take large and useful prey, and their sheer power and beauty.

Last Edited: Mar 10, 2011 12:12 PM   

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