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On
this page I like to introduce the diurnal birds of prey to
you, which belong to the order of the Falconiformes. That
group is well represented worldwide and comprise the Accipitridae
family which includes eagles,
hawks, kites and osprey with 235 species in 66 genera worldwide. The similar True Falcons, Forest Falcons
and
Caracaras
are put in the family of the
Falconidae and have worldwide 64 species in 11 genera. Ecuador boasts of many raptor species, found anywhere in Ecuador,
from the foot of glaciers right down to the Pacific ocean or Amazon
Lowlands and one endemic hawk species is found in the
Galapagos islands. |
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The Galapagos Hawk is endemic to the
islands and still very tame, coming often near persons and thus easy
to be photographed. This fearlessness however has cost many their
life in the past as they were caught and killed by hunters and on some isles
became extinct. In those pictures taken on Española can be
appreciated the strong hooked bill and knife sharp talons. |
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All
raptors are characterized by a strong and hooked bill and sharp talons.
Eagles, hawks and kites kill their prey with their feet whereas the
true falcons use their notched beak for breaking the spines of their prey. Prey includes all possible
live animals like small
mammals, snakes, birds, fish, invertebrates but also sometimes
carrion is eaten and which is in the case of the
Caracaras
the main
staple. True and Forest Falcons being superb aerial hunters, eat
mostly live-caught birds. Another distinct feature
is their sharp eyesight (in some eagles up to 8x sharper than
in humans) needed for spotting potential victims from high above. |
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Falcons
come
in many sizes from the large Peregrine Falcon (photo
to the left taken on near Pacific Coast) to the small American Kestrel
(to the right taken near Guamote in Chimborazo). |
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All diurnal
raptors show a reversed sexual size dimorphism where the female
is larger than males, substantially so in bird-eating species
whereas in carrion eaters there is very little difference. The
reason for that is not well understood and much debated. Other
characteristics of raptors are their polymorphism in plumage,
having several distinct variations of light to dark feathers,
occuring even sometimes in the same brood. Another distinct mark is that young
raptors up to a year have a complete different look than adults. |
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Raptors are easily recognized as such but it
is often difficult to distinguish between species as all are
brown, gray or black with paler streaked underparts. The pattern
is often very hard to observe in birds gliding above and in
poorer light.
In flight, falcons (photo to the left) have more slender and pointed
wings, whereas hawks (photo to the right) have broader and
more rounded
wings. |
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Members of
the Accipitridae
family are
mostly monogamous and mate for life. Females lay
1 - 4 eggs
(smaller species up to 9) in
nests built of sticks and lined with vegetation,
often in trees or on cliffs. The chicks are helpless in the
beginning and are taken care by both the parents. The larger female
defends and cares for the young whereas the smaller male hunts and
brings it the food. Falcons with the exception of the
Caracaras on the other hand do not build their own nests but use
other birds' stick nests. The females lay 2-5 eggs and as with the
other raptors both parents care for the altricial young till they
can take care of themselves. |
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The Swallow-tailed Kite (picture taken in the cloudforest
region of Mindo at 1600m) is the most common kite species and the
easiest recognized because of its long forked tail. They are
often seen gliding in groups of several birds with other kite
species intermixed. Kites hunt primarily
larger insects like dragonflies and eat them during
flights. Water is taken by swooping down to the water level and
drunk on the wing. |
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Birding Vocabulary |
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Dimorphism: same bird species
existing in two forms and may differ in size, shape, color,
etc... Common especially between sexes where males are usually
larger. |
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Polymorphism: same bird specie
existing in two or more forms, e.g different plumage. |
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