Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus)
Observation
I observed this Lanner Falcon on 17 September 2011 while attending the Wildlife Conservation Festival at the John Heinz National Refuge Center in Philadelphia, PA. This falcon has a blue beak and some blue coloration in its feathers. The falcon appeared quiet and calm until it realized that their was a dog in close proximity.Once the falcon became aware of the dogs presence, it became upset and began pacing back and forth and fluttered its feathers. One of the handlers asked that the dog be removed from area as not to upset the birds any further. I observed the falcon long enough to see it return to a calm state again.
Questions
What does the Lanner Falcon eat? How does it hunt? When hunting what is the role of the male and the female?
Scientific Research
Yosef, Reuven. Foraging Habits, Hunting and Breeding Success of the Lanner Falcon in Israel, Raptor Research Foundation, Vol. 25, No. 3 (1991), pp. 77-85.
The Lanner Falcon is a large bird of prey that typically eats rodents and small birds. They may also eat hares, bats and other small mammals. The lanner falcon hunts horizontally and grabs its prey while in flight. Pairs of falcons, during the courtship period and when flying with their young, have been known to participate in cooperative hunting. The male's role in cooperative hunting is to chase the prey in the direction of the female falcon. The female's role is to encouarage the prey to turn around and fly back in the direction of the male. Cooperative hunting is also used to teach young falcons how to enhance their hunting skills.
Further Information
No comments:
Post a Comment