Harris's hawks hunt in packs like wolves, which makes them falconry favourites
Most birds of prey hunt alone, but Harris's hawks live in groups with a pecking order and chase quarry together, behaviour no other raptor shows. That sociability makes them easy partners for falconers, who now launch them from car windows at rabbits, a modern twist on hunting with trained birds.
Falconry means hunting wild animals with a trained raptor, and its vocabulary is old. In early English texts falcon meant only a female peregrine, while the male of any hawk or falcon was a tiercel, from being about a third smaller than the female. Someone who flies goshawks and similar short-winged hawks is traditionally an austringer rather than a falconer. Practitioners sort their birds into broadwings such as buzzards, Harris's hawks and eagles, shortwings such as goshawks and sparrowhawks, and longwings, the true falcons.
Beginners in North America usually start with a red-tailed hawk, a hardy bird that takes rabbits, hares and squirrels. Kestrels are debated as starter birds because they are fragile and die easily if neglected, though small falcons can even be flown at dragonflies and grasshoppers. US falconers progress through apprentice, general and master licences. Classic British game hawking set a pair of peregrines against red grouse, with large falcons trained to circle high above until the quarry was flushed. Owls are rarely used, partly because they rely on hearing more than sight and are easily distracted by unfamiliar noises.
Golden eagles are flown from horseback in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia against foxes and even wolves. A little over 300 active eagle falconers remain in Central Asia, about 250 of them in western Mongolia. Dutch police tried bald eagles against illegal drones, but the birds proved too easily distracted outside trials. Japan has flown goshawks for centuries in a tradition it calls takagari.
Across the Arabian Peninsula, the saker falcon has been flown against houbara bustards and hares since ancient times and is the national bird of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Yemen. The UAE reportedly spends over US$27 million a year protecting wild falcons, and Abu Dhabi runs the world's largest falcon hospital.
Source: Falconry
