Hawkland

Hawkland

For all things falconry & raptors

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  • Created Fri Nov 11, 2016 2:26 am

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Harris Hawk

2 posts in this topic.

  1. Okay, this is probably a super controversial topic, but... *kicks hornet's nest*

    From what I understand, the Harris Hawk seems a perfectly awesome hawk to use for falconry. I mean. They're okay in groups, they seem to be easily trained by even the most basic beginner, and they are fairly hefty in size (about the size of a red-tailed hawk) so they can get lots of cool catches.

    In fact, they sound so reasonable to train that it seems a bit weird that the falconers who use these hawks seem to be looked down upon and it's suggested that you should start off with a red-tailed hawk, which are harder to train.

    Other than prestige, why NOT embrace the Harris Hawk? Why is there so much hatred for this lovely bird?
  2. Well, about the second paragraph, you start with a Red-tailed Hawk in the USA because of the law. You can't start with a Harris'.

    There are some people who say that Harris' Hawks are too easy and can 'lull a novice into a false sense of security'. However, other falconers, call this 'rubbish'.

    These birds are actually pretty popular. I don't see why someone would look down on the bird, but looking down on a falconer that flies Harris' could be from the fact they are so easy. I mean, if you're flying a passage-trapped bird that is catching game, etc. you might look down on the person who achieved such a good Harris' because it was so easy for them, and therefore there was less achievement.

    I hope that made sense.


Every empire tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires.
— Edward Said