Harris Hawks (Parabuteo Unicinctus) are a favourite in the world of falconry due to their unique social behaviour, versatility and adaptability. Harris hawks are found in the southwestern United Sates, Mexico, and down into South America. They are the most frequently captive bred species of raptor used in falconry today.
Why are Harris' Hawks a Favorite for Falconers?
- Harris' Hawks are easy to train;
- Harris' Hawks are fast and athletic;
- Harris' Hawks have excellent situational awareness;
- Harris' Hawks are capable of the most complex and varied flight styles when handled by an expert master falconer;
- Their unique social behaviors make them more inclined to cooperate with others (the falconer, dogs, etc.).
Behavior and Social Structure
While most raptors are solitary hunters, harris hawks are known for their cooperative hunting tactics. They often hunt and live together in groups - usually family groups. One or two of them will flush out prey while the others in the group will actually take that prey down. This greatly increases their hunting success. Their social structure is rare among raptors. They. have been known to perform a unique behavior called “stacking” or “Back stacking” where they stand on top of each other in a stack of up to 4, or even sometimes 5 birds high. This may happen when there may not be enough suitable perches for them all to stand on their own, or when they want to gain a better vantage point to see prey or predators. They may do this for shade where the birds on top will spread their wings to shade those beneath them.
Hunting in a Group
Because they hunt and live in groups there is a social hierarchy to the group with a mature female typically assuming the dominant position of the family or group. Females are quite a bit larger than the males, as is the case with almost all raptors - usually 30% and sometimes even 50% larger. Because they tend to live in arid desert or semi desert areas where prey is harder to find, their cooperative hunting techniques make them quite successful at taking prey. Group members will separate into scouting parties, then signal other group members when prey is spotted, working together they flush out, chase and kill their prey. The prey is shared according to social status with the dominant female going first, then other females followed by adult males and the juveniles getting the rest of it. Prey is sometimes stored in the trees to be eaten later. Hunting as a group allows them to take lager prey than a solitary hunter would be able to manage alone.
Physical Characteristics
Harris hawks are a beautiful dark brown color with chestnut red shoulders and thighs, and a distinctive white band near the base of their long tail feathers. They have long yellow legs and yellow markings on their face and beak. The beak has a black tip on it. A juvenile is quite light in colour, darkening to the beautiful darker brown as it matures. A female harris hawk will measure 18 to 25 inches in length and have a wingspan of 40 to 48 inches. A large female can weigh in at 1000 to 1400 grams with an average male being 550 to 700 grams in weight. The male is much more dexterous and aggressive in flight and in hunting, but the females are faster and can fly higher and for longer periods of time. Because the female is bigger, she can bring down bigger prey than a male.
Diet and Nesting
Harris hawks generally eat smaller mammals - mice, rabbits, squirrels and other rodents. They can take down larger prey such as a jackrabbit when hunting as a group. They will also hunt and eat any bird smaller or of equal size to themselves. They especially like quail and pigeon. Depending on what’s available in their area, they will also eat reptiles, snakes, sometimes insects. They are quite opportunistic and will eat almost anything they think might be tasty and that they can catch.
Nesting sites are usually as high as they can find an appropriate spot, trees, cacti, or high-rise buildings, communications towers. The nests are primarily built by the female with twigs, cacti parts, sticks, and lined with bark, soft grasses, sometimes feathers and down. It’s a large bulky structure 28 to 36 inches across. The female can lay 1 to 5 eggs each year in April or May. The female does most of the incubation with the male helping out so the female can feed. Once the eggs are hatched, in about 35 days, the whole group helps feed and rear the young. This is known as cooperative breeding. The young usually start to leave the nest in about 32 days with flight taking place in about 45 to 50 days. The young may stay with the family group for up to 3 years, before finding and joining a new family group. In the wild, harris hawks live 10 to 12 years. When bred and kept in captivity they may live up to 25 years, and sometimes even longer.
The Harris Hawk: A Favorite for Falconry
Harris hawks are the most versatile of raptors, intelligent, sociable, and very trainable. This makes them a favorite for use in falconry. They are probably the easiest hawk to train, even for a novice falconer. They are also capable of the most complex and varied flight styles when handled by an expert master falconer.
Harris hawks are much more social than most other raptors that are used for falconry. They learn their social cues from the parents, so it’s best to take them to train when they are 16 to 20 weeks old. This allows them to imprint on the parents and become more independent from the group. When taken to train too early they can become imprinted on the falconer, and possibly become territorial and attack anyone near the falconer as it becomes sexually mature.
Traits to look for in a harris hawk for falconry use include:
Tameness - most harris hawks are fairly tame when trained well, and tameness can be trained, too, with an expert falconer who truly cares for their raptors. They usually have an even-tempered disposition;
Eagerness for quarry - because they are fed when they are not out hunting with the falconer any raptor can become lazy, just not interested in finding their own food. With proper training and regular flying they can regain that eagerness for hunting;
Social skills - any raptor needs to have some manners around other people and dogs. Many falconers hunt with dogs, they are often used to flush prey. Harris hawks are usually quite social with other harris hawks, as long as they are able to be familiar with them, and when they are parent raised until 16 to 20 weeks of age the social graces are innate;
Athletic ability is also important. Speed and agility, whether flying a male or female, is quite variable. Some are better at speed and some are very agile. A great harris hawks has both;
Situational awareness - A good hawk will adjust their flying speed and style according to the terrain they are in. They must be very aware or what else is in the skies with them - whether prey or possibly a predator, while keeping a lookout for prey on the ground.
Harris hawks can bond with their falconer when they spend a lot of time together. They will often coo, almost like a quiet purr, this is their way of showing affection with the falconer. When they have that bond a good harris hawk will seem eager to please their handler. They will more easily learn complex flight patterns and varied attack patterns. And, yes, Harris hawks can recognize humans and their voices, and even which vehicle is the one their handler is in.
Harris hawks for falconry bird abatement
Harris hawks are often used for falconry bird abatement. Most pest birds are the perfect size for a meal for harris hawks. But, for use in bird abatement, the hawks are trained to scare and chase pest birds away, rather than for hunting and eating them. Although, they will sometimes take a hatchling from a nest, they are trained to scare away pest birds. Falconry bird abatement is frequently used at airports world wide where it is very effective. Raptors can fly higher than any shotgun at the end of a runway can reach. Multiple species of raptor are required for this for the different species and sizes of pest birds at and near a runway. Bird abatement is also great for waste management to keep scavenging birds away from the trash and spreading disease. More recently, falconry bird abatement is used at resorts, golf courses, patio restaurants to keep pest birds away from people eating outside and having their dinner taken right from their plates. Harris hawks, especially the males, are small enough to fly and chase pest birds inside large warehouses and hangers, where pigeons and sparrows are sometimes nesting.
For falconry bird abatement there are several permits, both federal and state, that are required by a master falconer. Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control has the raptors, the master falconers and the permits necessary for any falconry bird abatement job you may have. We have over 30 years of experience and the skills, knowledge and tools to assist you.
More Resources: http://faculty.washington.edu.baywingdb.traintips, audubon.org
