Parabuteo Unicinctus
Thirty years ago this bird was virtually unknown in this country. Now the Harris Hawk is the most commonly kept bird amongst falconers in the U.K. Read on to find out why.
Adult Harris Hawks have dark brown feathers with rust-coloured patches and a white-tipped tail. Males are about one third smaller than females. They are natives of Central America: there were none in Britain until enthusiasts first imported them. Nowadays Harris Hawks are being bred in captivity over here so importing one is no longer necessary. The photo is of me with my first Harris Hawk, a 1-year old captive-bred male bird in adult plumage. But why use a non-native bird in the first place? The reason lies in the Harris Hawk's unusually agreeable nature towards humans.
Harris Hawks are naturally social birds. Unlike many other birds of prey, both wild and trained Harrises will hunt together, with one helping the other to make a kill. Harris Hawks will co-operate with a human hunter, too. This makes them relatively easy to train for falconry. The bond between hawk and man remains strong once trained, even if they are only flown at weekends. Although that's hardly fair on the hawk, busy people with day jobs often choose to keep one for that reason. They are quite large and robust enough to tackle a wide range of quarry, such as rabbits and game birds. Their versatility in the field and their resilience makes them a firm favourite with new and experienced falconers alike.
Harris Hawks are easily obtained, now they are being captive-bred and you no longer need a D.O.E licence. That doesn't mean you can just buy one, take it out of the box and watch it hunt rabbits for you ! These birds still need all the proper care and training that makes falconry a difficult, demanding pastime. There's plenty of room to make fatal mistakes. It's just that little bit easier with a Harris, like learning to drive an automatic rather than a standard car.
Falconry with the Goshawk
Falconry and U.K. Law
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