Birds That Hunt (1975)

thank you foreign [Music] eyesight and Powerful wings these are characteristics of several species of birds adapted by nature to be Hunters birds of prey [Music] foreign have a vital role in the balance of nature they help to control the size of various animal populations scanning the ground below a Harris Hawk is alert for any sign of movement soon he spots a rabbit success depends on a Swift and accurate diet at this time the attack fails and the rabbit has escaped once again the hawk has cited a rabbit [Music] by capturing the weakest members of an animal population Predators actually benefit the population as a whole other birds of prey the owls do most of their hunting at night this is one of the largest the great horned owl [Music] the horns are actually Tufts of feathers for the great horned owl the nesting season comes early often while snow is still on the ground [Music] has the egg tooth which he used to help him escape from the shell [Music] after a few weeks the young owls will flutter to the ground and remain there for several weeks before Learning to Fly if a strange animal approaches the young owl raises his wings in a defense position [Music] 12 weeks after hatching the owl has learned to fly the soft feathers in his powerful Wings make no sound at all as he searches for prey [Music] owls perform a service to Farmers by destroying many of the mice and other rodents that would otherwise infest a field of grain with the end of winter other birds have returned to their nesting sites among them is the red-tailed hawk the Young Red Tails are about two weeks old as with most talks the female on the right is larger than the male this will be true even when both are full grown [Music] the adult Hawk rips small pieces of meat with her beak and holds them out to be snatched by the young birds another bird of prey is the goshawk its Wide Wings and long tail give the gossaw perfect control of its flight [Music] spotting a mouse the goshawk Dives and makes a quick kill [Music] at the nest the mouse is fed to the young goshawks and then the adult returns to the hunt [Music] young Hawks do not need to be fed as often as other birds they have a crop or sack in their throat in which food can be stored when the young bird is hungry it will push some of the food from the crop into the stomach newly hatched goshawks like all baby hawks are covered with soft white fluffy feathers called natal down [Music] a young Hawk spends most of the day sleeping after a few weeks the young guys Hawk has all of its feathers this is called juvenile plumage and the color is completely different from the plumage of an adult the goshawk is one of the larger birds of prey one of the smallest is a type of Falcon called the Kestrel which is only slightly larger than a robin like other Falcons the Kestrel has a small head hard compact plumage and long pointed wings these characteristics give it Greater speed in flying oh diving on prey the Kestrel holds its wings close to its body then spreads them to break the dive hovering above a meadow and other Kestrel searches for prey [Music] orchestrals attacked the same Mouse the female Kestrel is larger and the prize is hers [Music] Roger Falcon the Peregrine is strictly a bird eater its greater flying speed enables it to capture ducks or other game birds in mid-air a Peregrine diving on its prey May reach a speed of nearly 200 miles an hour this young peregrine falcon is colored differently from the adult like all hawks peregrines like to bathe perhaps to get rid of parasites peregrine falcons have been declining in numbers in recent years because of the effect of DDT on their egg production and they are now listed as an endangered species another endangered species is the Osprey which lives entirely on the diet of fish insecticide passed from insects to fish has found its way into the eggs of the Osprey killing the embryo before it can hatch it may already be too late to save the Osprey from Extinction the golden eagle was once very close to extinction large numbers of the more being killed by hunters but now under government protection their population has begun to increase once again as a young golden eagle grows to adulthood the white patches on his wings and tail will gradually disappear thank you pausing in his meal the young Eagle flaps his wings to test their strength he has only recently left the nest and learned to fly Eagles Hawks and owls although some of them may occasionally raid a chicken coop or poultry art they play a role that is beneficial to Man by helping to cut down the population of mice and other rodents that destroy crops and on a larger scale by helping to maintain the balance of nature which is vital to the survival of every kind of living thing Baba [Music] foreign