birding-aus

Re: Resend [Birding-Aus] Question about inter-marrying between raptors

To: "Bruce Cox" <>
Subject: Re: Resend [Birding-Aus] Question about inter-marrying between raptors
From: "Belinda Cassidy" <>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:01:28 +1000
Hi Bruce,

Thanks so much for the information. That beautiful story about the Buzzards
raising the baby Kestrels made my day:) Its not so hard to believe, after
watching our local crows raise channeled billed cuckoos year after year.

I have been really interested to hear the different responses. Thankyou very
much for them.

 Overall, I think the only answer is to somehow take a better picture of her
toes. It is hard to show her size in my pictures, but she is really big
compared to him, easily the size of the grey Goshawk that was around here
for a little while. She is different to him in enough ways to make me wonder
about her. For example, she likes to perch on exposed branches, stoic and
tall in posture,whereas he is more `sparrowhawk- like' and loves to sit
amongst dense folliage. Her voice is very loud and she calls frequently
(maybe she's just pregnant and winey?)  His voice is more like a soft
twitter.

Someone asked me (Nikolaas) if I am sure they are mates and not just chasing
each other off. I forgot to mention that they had a juvenile with them until
the end of Autumn, and that they also fly around together, as well as
protect the territory against other raptors, such as the occasional Grey
Goshawk and the Bazas. Its only this week that they've been chasing each
other. Its a lot like how the grey butcherbirds behave when they mate.

I hope I will have more, and better , pictures soon!

Cheers,
beinda

















On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Bruce Cox <> wrote:

>
> From: "Kurtis Lindsay" <>
> To: "Belinda Cassidy" <>
> Cc: "Birding Aus" <>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 3:51 PM
> Subject: Re: Resend [Birding-Aus] Question about inter-marrying between
> raptors
>
> Hi Kurtis and Belinda,
>
> While I agree with what Kurtis said about a female goshawk preying on a
> male sparrowhawk strange things happen on occasion. Jack and Lindsay Cupper
> in their book "Hawks in Focus" devote a chapter to Black-breasted Buzzards
> raising Nankeen Kestrel chicks. Normally black-breasted Buzzards feed
> Nankeen Kestrel chicks and adults to their own young and the Cuppers suggest
> that the kestrel chicks were originally brought to the nest for food, they
> further suggested that instead of eating the kestrels the buzzards succumbed
> to the kestrels begging behaviour and proceded to raise them as their own
> offspring. At one stage there were seven kestrels in the nest, I am not
> clear if any were fully fledged. This is all suupported with photographs of
> the kestrel chicks in the nest with a buzzard attending or feeding them.
>
> The Cupper's book has been overshadowed by David Hollands' Book "Eagles,
> Hawks and Falcons of Australia", I feel this is a great pity as I have found
> the Cupper's book diffirent and in some ways more informative.
>
> Bruce Cox.
>
>
>  Belinda,
>>
>> I would beleive there is more chance of a female Brown Goshawk preying on
>> Mr Sparrowhawk, then getting married to him.
>>
>> Kurtis Lindsay
>>
>>
>
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