Raptor Almanac Scott Weidensaul

The Raptor Almanac, Scott Weidensaul

This is an excellent summary of the hawks, falcons, and vultures of the world.  It is interesting that he would include new world vultures now that we know that they are related to storks – the old world are not – but not owls.  He does acknowledge the new world vulture’s phylogenetic relationship.  But other than being a puzzle of content, the book does a thorough examination of the birds structure, habitat, behavior, lifestyles…

In addition we read some fun vignettes that keep the book from being a dry text book.  For example we learn that harriers have greater facial disks than other raptors and like owls use them for gathering sound.  However, they are not offset like the owl which makes them less accurate in judging location.  The difference is made up with the eyes.

Or we learn about a raptor pellet (the indigestible portion of a prey) that is regurgitated and in one case had the leg band from a widgeon that had been dinner.

Then there is the goshawk that was so intent that it flew in to the chicken coop with the farmer and his daughter.  The daughter dispatched it.  Another goshawk chased a chicken under a woman’s skirt.  In Mexico Kestrels follow trains to snatch up the prey that is running from the engine and red-tailed hawks follow tractors to get escaping voles.

Most raptors are solitary, but the author tells about Harris hawks that work like a wolf pack and cooperatively hunt for large prey like Jackrabbits.  And some small kites and falcons that hunt insects do work in flocks like song birds.

I am trying to picture, in my mind the idea of a Great Horned Owl laying its eggs in a Florida Eagle nest and then, both the owl and the eagle sharing the nest and sitting on their own eggs.  Too incredible.

“The lammergeier, or bearded vulture, is one of the most majestic of all diurnal raptors, with a wingspan of nearly nine feet…” “In some areas, lammergeiers have developed a taste for marrow, which they satisfy by carrying large, heavy bones aloft in their feet, then dropping them to the orcks bleow;  the vulture may go into a steep dive before releasing the bone, increasing its velocity.  When the bone smashes, the lammergeier lands and uses it specialized stiff, scoop-shaped tongue to remove the marrow.”

There are numerous charts and side notes with anecdotes for naturalists, birders, biologists.  It is easy to find the information with lots of subheadings as well as the clearly defined information in the charts.