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Falcon ID (Attenborough, England) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter NKR2017
- Start date
Jane Turner
Well-known member
maybe its re-growing
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Angled up with the bird hanging in the wind.
Tho' it does look very like it's transplanted off a Jay 3
All at once? It would be difficult for it to survive long enough for its tail to regrow if it had lost all of it in one go.. Maybe its a stunted mutation? Maybe its just the angle?
Pretty sure it's the angle here.
Birds do not die if they accidentally lose their tail (correct me if you have even one bit of evidence (published articles) for the contrary).
It only takes a few weeks for the tail to be partly regrown, and although the flight capability will be slightly down for a short period, birds are quite adaptable such situations.
A Kestrel with less ability to effeciently hover, will do so all the same, and still find food, and/or it will resort to hunting from a perch instead.
For thousands of species the temporary lack of the tail will have absolutely no detrimental effect on the feeding success.
Do consider that in the cause of a normal moult, numerous species come close to having practically no tail for a brief period.
Peter
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The intention of my posts (responding to what I thought was a general claim encompassing all birds, not solely raptors), was to argue that a temporary loss of the tail feathers would not be likely to prove fatal.
And even if we limit ourselves to discuss only raptors, I could argue that I've seen several tail-less birds of prey, mostly Black Kites, (albeit only a very minute fraction of all the normal ones) crossing the Gibraltar, something a bird in ill condition would hardly do.
However, I do see where you're coming from, and I believe we agree on the vital points made here
Peter
And even if we limit ourselves to discuss only raptors, I could argue that I've seen several tail-less birds of prey, mostly Black Kites, (albeit only a very minute fraction of all the normal ones) crossing the Gibraltar, something a bird in ill condition would hardly do.
However, I do see where you're coming from, and I believe we agree on the vital points made here
Peter
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Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Let me be controversial for a change..8-P
Can we dismiss another, smaller Falcon of captive origin? The whole thing including bill structure looks odd to me for Kestrel?
A
Can we dismiss another, smaller Falcon of captive origin? The whole thing including bill structure looks odd to me for Kestrel?
A
it looks perfectly normal for a fresh juvenile Common Kestrel to my eyes. Shortish tail due to angle for sure, juveniles learning to fly surely move tail much more than adults.
As to tailless raptors I have seen many and it is astonishing how well they do flying without tail
As to tailless raptors I have seen many and it is astonishing how well they do flying without tail
Agree in everything here.
The position of the bird in question makes it most likely that a gush of wind lifts the tail in the instant the picture was taken, thus giving a false impression of it having an abnormally short tail.
Peter
stevethehydra
Well-known member
My first thought on this was that it does look oddly like an American Kestrel... but plumage-wise it looks perfectly normal for Common/Eurasian K and I think it is most likely to just be an odd photo angle, maybe combined with feathers being momentarily fluffed up in such a way as to mislead about structure/proportions. Perhaps also just a bird that is at the extreme end of the bell curve in size/structure - all species do have individual variation...
This is true for the larger falcon species (Peregrines, Gyrs, Lanners, Sakers etc)... and there is also a weird trend for crossing those larger species with Merlins through AI, but I have never heard of any Kestrel sp being used in captive hybridisation - Ken Loach aside, I think they are just not attractive to "big business" falconry due to their preferred prey and hunting style (Merlins, while also small, are at least also pursuit hunters, which is what the falconers want at various combinations of size/speed/flight range/etc...)
This is true for the larger falcon species (Peregrines, Gyrs, Lanners, Sakers etc)... and there is also a weird trend for crossing those larger species with Merlins through AI, but I have never heard of any Kestrel sp being used in captive hybridisation - Ken Loach aside, I think they are just not attractive to "big business" falconry due to their preferred prey and hunting style (Merlins, while also small, are at least also pursuit hunters, which is what the falconers want at various combinations of size/speed/flight range/etc...)
Jon Turner
Well-known member
There was a Lesser Kestrel flying around Jimena de la Frontera last year with no tail at all. Didn't seem to worry it at all. Although it did look odd (like a short-tailed Nighthawk!). It was in the spring and at a breeding colony too.
