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Fur and Fangs rather than Feathers and Beaks

10,000 Birds

I viewed them at dusk, through a telescope, from a ridge overlooking the area they were hunting. They will also kill any water birds they can capture, from Kingfishers to Mallard. I’ve yet to see an English pine marten, but I once watched one hunting red squirrels in the Bialowieza Forest in Poland.

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Falconry – Bloodsport or Alternative Form of Birding?

10,000 Birds

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

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Birding Sepilok, Borneo (Part 2)

10,000 Birds

The drongo perches above the flock, snatching insects that they disturb, and keeping an eye out for predators that might go unnoticed by its hunting flock-mates. The species is classified as Near Threatened for all the usual depressing reasons – pollution, drainage, hunting, and the collection of eggs and nestlings ( source ).

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Red-tailed Hawk Eating Breakfast

10,000 Birds

There were Northern Harriers hunting low over what portions are as of yet unmowed, Cooper’s Hawks using some of the berms as cover for sneak attacks, and American Kestrel feasting on cold grasshoppers. It must be immensely frustrating to have food stuck on your beak when you lack hands to get it off.

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Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve: the Tiger Afternoon

10,000 Birds

There’s a Three-striped Palm Squirrel by the side of the track, while Jungle Bush Quails are running across it in front of our Maruti Gypsy, almost the official safari vehicle of India. The Osprey tries another hunt, finally a successful one, while Telia goes deeper into the water and lies down.

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Striding Snake-killers

10,000 Birds

Secretarybirds counter this by being very careful when killing snakes and ensuring that the prey is dead before eating it. Sometimes they will pick up other prey and, aided by their incredible height, they will kill the prey by repeatedly dropping it on hard ground. Watching them hunt is fascinating. Note the huge wings.

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