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.
