Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Sparrowhawk Or Peregrine Falcon. Thread starter alimacL Start date May 9, Sparrowhawk Or Peregrine Falcon - Near Stirling , Scotland Hi all, I stay just outside Stirling in Scotland and saw a large pile of feathers in our back garden, then noticed in the corner that there was a bird of prey eating a pigeon.
I tried to get up close and get a good shot but my camera doesn't have the best zoom. I'm not sure which type of bird it is, i think on looking at other pics on the net that it's either a sparrowhawk or a peregrine falcon, also a hen harrier doesn't look hugely different either. So the bird has yellow eyes, is a kind of grey brown around the back and wings, and on the breast area is a lighter shade of grey with horizontal darker stripes.
It's legs are yellow and it has a thicker feather covering around the top area of it's legs. It also has a long fan tail. It killed the pigeon yesterday and also came back today to eat more of the pigeon. Apologies for the quality of the pic, i don't yet have a zoom lens for my slr so have had to just zoom in on ythe pic myself and save it. If anyone can identify it, i'd be very greatful. Parker Uncomfortably Numb.
Welcome to Birdforum. Your bird is definitely an Accipiter, either Sparrowhawk or Goshawk, and I will leave it at that for the experts to sort out.
Sent a picture of it to my dad who this morning informs me he thinks it is a peregrine because he doesn't think sparrowhawks are quick enough to catch a pigeon in flight. From the picture, I am certain it is a sparrowhawk. It had golden eyes and no moustache and looks browner than peregrines.
But the feathers on his legs seem to go too far down for sparrowhawks so that's why my dad thinks its a peregrine. In reply to doggie :.
Yes, that's a Sparrowhawk. Female Sprawks in particular often take pigeons. They are specialists in surprise attacks, coming in low and using cover to get close to prey, so they don't rely solely on speed. As well as the plumage differences you noted, there are some differences in shape to consider.
Scuse the somewhat blurry photo, but note on this Peregrine how long the wings are, the tips almost reaching the tail tip, Sprawk has much shorter wings. Peregrine also has a much bigger head relative to body size this is a trait of all falcons compared to hawks. Find out more about the partnership. Main website Shop. Site Search User. Share More Cancel.
Latest posts. Sparrowhawks are capable of taking a wide range of prey. Females are considerably larger than males and catch larger birds, up to woodpigeon size; males tend to stick to smaller species. With broad, rounded wings, they are ultra-manoeuvrable in flight, and their long legs help them reach into bushes and hedges.
In short, sparrowhawks are superbly adapted for catching birds and they have evolved side-by-side with their diverse prey species.
You have to marvel at their hunting skills. Why are birds of prey important? From an ecological perspective, they are 'top predators', perching proudly at the top of the food chain. Because populations of predators are controlled by the amount of prey available to them, the presence of a bird of prey shows that there are good numbers of its prey species present.
For me, and many other people, the 'magic' of birds of prey goes much deeper than food chains. They are thrilling to watch, and beautiful too. Their top predator status means they will never be as numerous as other birds, so they retain a certain novelty that only adds to the experience.
Seeing a bird of prey is usually a surprise. Often, other birds alert you to a raptor's presence: small birds raise the alarm with high-pitched calls, prompting their neighbours to flee into vegetation. On an estuary, the approach of a peregrine will be heralded by the panic of ducks, geese, gulls and waders, which scatter in all directions — the problem for the observer is then to pick out the peregrine from the chaos!
Most raptors are rather unsociable creatures, but red kites break the mould. They congregate at dusk to roost together, and such gatherings can reach up to birds. That in itself has only been made possible by increased protection and the hugely successful reintroduction schemes, which have brought red kites back to many parts of the UK. Perhaps because of their social nature, red kites are among the most vocal of the UK's birds of prey; they have a mournful whistling call.
A flying red kite is a joy to watch: they are expert at riding the air and use their long, forked tails to 'steer'.
In spring and summer, hobbies migrate to the UK. Their main prey items are insects and small birds; they are the only birds able to catch swifts in flight! To watch a hobby flying after dragonfly, catching it in its talons, then transferring the unfortunate insect to its bill — all without missing a wingbeat — is fabulous. Equally breathtaking is to watch a merlin our smallest falcon 'tailgating' a skylark.
The lark will try every conceivable manoeuvre to shake off the merlin, and the merlin will do its best to keep up — no mean feat. Sometimes the lark will get away, sometimes not. Though there are many parts of the country where birds of prey can be seen in good numbers, there are other places where that isn't the case.
Our raptors should have been able to bounce back from the 'bad old days' of pesticide poisoning, but there are people in the UK countryside who want to stop that from happening. Moorland that should have ghostly-grey male hen harriers floating over it, and Scottish mountainsides which ought to have eagles soaring over the summits cannot be considered 'complete' until their native birdlife has returned.
0コメント