UNDERSTANDING THE BIRD OF PREY. By Nick Fox. Paperback reissue of first edition.

(1995) 2014 1st paperback edition. 4to paperback (217 x 280mm). Pp375 + 1pp ads. Colour and b/w photographs, b/w line illustrations, bibliography.

This is probably the most comprehensive gathering of data on birds of prey ever assembled. The text covers the biology of birds of prey, their captive management, breeding, training and rehabilitation. Chapters/sections include: Structure and function - skeleton, senses, digestive system (etc...), wing structure, feather structure, feather maintenance, wing shape and tail variations, gliding and soaring, powered flight, foot structure, sexual dimporphism and variations with lifestyle; Managing a breeding program - process of domestication, genetic assessment of pairs, genetic compatability of pairings, selection of breeding stock, physical assessment, performance assessment, mental suitability for breeding, breeding facilities, incubator and broody rooms, food supply, the program in winter, the program in spring, semen, insemination, laying, structure of the egg, the embryo, the egg, rearing to seven days, systems of rearing the older chick, finding the right homes for the young stock, maintaining breeding records; Equipment and facilities (60+ pages); Development and behaviour - physical development, components of behaviour, temperaments, biological urges and drives, memory, imprinting, learning; Training and conditioning (55+ pages); Hunting strategies for wild raptors - components of the hunt, still-hunting, fast contour-hugging flight, searching, quartering, stalking, listening, fluching from cover, false attack, attack strategies, drop, dive, stoop, deception flights, hunting in groups, ways in which experienced raptors hunt; Hawking in the field - introduction, the hawking year, what the hawks can do, what the quarry can do, hawking grounds and quarry populations, rabbit hawking, hare hawking, mixed game in hedges and farmland, waiting-on flights with falcons, field meets, hawking dogs; Raptors and man - international contribution of falconers to raptor conservation and welfare, ethics of rehabilitation, effects of falconry on wild raptor populations, ethics of hybrids, past and future of domestic breeding, breeding for conservation and gene banks, lawyers, politicians and civil servants, sky trials and bagged game, falconry as a 'green' field sport, ways to learn falconry and hawking, philosophy of the falconer. Over 290 technical drawings and 150 colour photographs aid the reader in the pursuit of understanding birds of prey. Structure and function, managing a breeding program, equipment and facilities, development and behaviour, training and conditioning, hunting strategies of wild raptors, hawking in the field, raptors and man. Essential reading if you are even slightly serious about birds of prey, for any purpose whatever.