I am a little surprised too. Believable. In that quote are Friarbirds & Crested Pigeons “large birds”? Crested Pigeons are often targeted by raptors, maybe
pigeons are not very good at fighting back once caught, unlike many birds. There is so much internet film of this, though mostly involving sparrowhawks and goshawks and their relatives in Europe & USA. It gives that impression. Pigeons fight so much less,
maybe they go into shock. Hard to know. As for the interaction with a Friarbird, I suggest it could easily come from the tables being turned if the Friarbird started harassing the Hobby.
Philip
From: shorty [
Sent: Sunday, 3 March, 2019 7:49 PM
To: Steve Read
Cc: calyptorhynchus; Canberra Birds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Hobby vs Noisy Friarbird
Interesting, Even Steve Debus can get it wrong.
On Sun, Mar 3, 2019 at 7:23 PM Steve Read <> wrote:
Thanks John. In regards to the Australian Hobby, Debus,
Birds of Prey of Australia says “often harasses large birds but is incapable of killing them”.
But my son Lach reminded me that we once saw a hobby with a freshly killed Crested Pigeon at the National Arboretum, which I reckon would be about twice the weight of a Noisy Friarbird.
Steve
From: calyptorhynchus <>
Sent: Sunday, 3 March 2019 6:43 PM
To: Canberra Birds <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Hobby vs Noisy Friarbird
I get the impression that sometimes Falcons chase birds that are too big for prey just as exercise. In the UK I saw a male Merlin (very small) chase a Blackbird all over a reedbed.
The Blackbird thought it was for real and was alarm calling away, but the Merlin didn't persist and gave up after a while.
On Sun, 3 Mar 2019 at 18:15, Steve Read <> wrote:
David Dedenczuk and I walked out to Yankee Hat this morning from the end of Old Boboyan Road (bird list at
https://ebird.org/australia/view/checklist/S53311021). We didn’t see any Hobby (but we had seen a pair earlier on Nass Road). We did see four Kestrel flying as a group, a Brown
Goshawk, a Brown Falcon (a very dark bird), two Wedge-tailed Eagle and two Swamp Harrier. The adult harrier was hassling one of the eagles, then one of the Kestrel joined in.
Shorty – seems as though you got the impression that the Hobby was treating the Noisy Friarbird as prey, and the picture certainly shows an attack. But I would have thought that
a friarbird was rather large prey for a Hobby – I’m more used to them catching grasshoppers and dragonflies…?
Regards
Steve
From: shorty <>
Sent: Sunday, 3 March 2019 6:02 PM
To: COG Chat <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Hobby vs Noisy Friarbird
After a visit to Mount Clear ( 6 Needletails seen ) I pulled into Old Boboyan Road for a quick look.
After going across the low level crossings i noticed a Hobby so pulled up and got out of the car to get some pics. It turned out there were 2 Hobbys and i watched them flying around
catching Grasshoppers often eating them on the fly. A Noisy Friarbird was calling from a perch in a nearby tree and soon took flight. A Hobby took off chasing the Friarbird and made contact but except for quite a few feathers lost the Hobby did not get his
prey. The Friarbird continued with the Hobby chasing it but the Friarbird made it to a tree just in time.
During this time i also saw 3 Wedge-tailed Eagle, 2 Brown Goshawk (chasing Starlings) and a Nankeen Kestrel swooping the now perched Brown Goshawk.
A quick stop at the Yankee Hat carpark there were Dusky and White-browed Woodswallow with young.
Due to distance not a good pic but include the point of impact shot.
--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
‘There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.’ Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
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