#the runner up is harris hawks because theyre so intelligent and their flight ability is gorgeous and theyre so fun to train | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ashleygraves-number1defender · 9 months ago

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This art is so cuteeee 🥰 fav BOP is a very tough choice but Eurasian Kestrel! The reasoning is in the tags because I intended it to be a short explanation and wound up rambling, oopsie

Heres my girlie and the main reason behind the favouritism lol; she’s a year and a half old Eurasian Kestrel and owns my heart and soul! (Last pic was with her juvenile plumage)

american kestrel

tell me your favorite bird of prey :-)

#LOOK AT THE BABIESSS #this is tough #i have my own eurasian kestrel and she is everything so im biased here #i have a lot of favourites though #the runner up is harris hawks because theyre so intelligent and their flight ability is gorgeous and theyre so fun to train #i will say i prefer the call of harris hawks because my kestrel shrieks and it bursts my ear drums </3 #a lot of owls cause theyre so beautiful and i love their temperament but also each is very unique and you get to form a bond with each one #ultimately eurasian kestrel is gonna have to win though cause they do a bit of everything that i love about falcons hawks and owls respecti #long wings generally cant be taught “tricks” but kestrels can be— i mean have you SEEN them hovering? they have a lot of manoeuvrability to #you can also do lure work with a kestrel so arabic style lure swinging rather than just as a recall like most hawks #another thing is weight management and feeding schedules compared to bigger falcons like sakers peregrines lanners etc #the rule i was taught with longwings is to feed once a day w/ a big reward #while there are exceptions they generally dont respond that well to small pieces and multiple flights whereas hawks and owls will #kestrels are an exception and do well with that training style #also eurasian kestrels will respond to food even if they’re not necessarily very hungry same as with hawks #which means you can do multiple flights a day and train both short and long distances #you could argue that their size is a disadvantage but personally i really enjoy microfalconry #size doesn't matter (bird edition)#although flying a big hawk owl eagle or gyr will always have a certain <33333 to it i’ll admit #also in my experience kestrels have that intelligence and sociability and variety that you see with owls and a lot of hawks #i think all birds are special and i adore all the raptors that i’ve worked with but i love when they’re very obviously smart #you look in their eyes and you can see them analysing and understanding things around them #smart birds will also challenge you quite a bit #you have to treat them with a lot of respect and consideration to get any back and once you do earn it its the most incredible feeling #and of all the falcons ive worked with eurasian kestrels are the smartest #i wont compare them visually because all birds are so so beautiful but kestrels generally are a joy to watch like hellooooo #so yes i love all raptors and all birds but ultimately kestrels <333333 #harris hawks and desert eagle owls are very very close seconds but if I had to choose one then yeah!#ALSO shout out to vultures and eagles i adore them but i dont have much first hand experience (yet!) so they’re not talked abt much #birds

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