(Image: Charles W. Juels. Courtesy of Anacortes Telescopes, www.buytelescopes.com)
Read more: Click here to read the original, longer version of this story.
THEY鈥橰E the world鈥檚 only raptor pack. Some Harris鈥檚, or Harris, hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) in the wild work in teams to chase down prey like rabbits and lizards.
Advertisement
Jennifer Coulson of the Orleans Audubon Society in Pearl River, Louisiana, and her husband 鈥� both avid falconers 鈥� trained a hunting team of the birds, allowing them to see the unusual behaviour up close.
During the airborne hunt, a single lead hawk will be flanked by wingmen ready to step in if the first hawk dives but misses the target. And if the prey takes cover, some birds sacrifice their chances of making the kill by noisily wading through the bush to force the animal back into the open.
Strangest of all, the birds will hop on top of each other when perched 鈥� 鈥渓ike a hawk totem pole鈥�, says Coulson 鈥� to afford the top bird a better view.
The hawks share their kills afterwards, but why they cooperate is a mystery. Coulson thinks it might be because they occupy a landscape with few prey animals and lots of cover 鈥� team work might be the only way to stay alive (The Auk, vol 130, p 548).
Ongoing efforts to study the habitats where the hawks do and don鈥檛 team up may help shed light on the puzzle.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淭he hawks that hunt together鈥�