Hunting with birds of prey is an impressive sight! The gracefulness of the birds is overwhelming. They can make up to 70 bets without a break. With all this, develop a speed of up to 100 meters per second when attacking prey. Huntsmen have come a long way from fishing to the amusement of kings. Then for a long time hunting with hunters was forgotten.
A bit of history
Hunting with birds of prey was carried out many years ago. Hunters used their assistants to catch game birds. But when firearms became widely used, this type of hunting fell out of favor.
Common list of hunting birds
Before moving on to recommendations for keeping and preparing birds for hunting, let's look at some of their species. As a rule, all birds of prey are birds of prey.
- Berkut is a large eagle. Its weight reaches 4 kilograms, it is excellently suited for the role of a bird of prey. Its wingspan is about 2 meters. Females are usually slightly larger than males. They have dark brown feathers. Habitat chooses forest belts, mountainous terrain, and also settles in the desert.
- Balaban is a small-sized predator, with a swingwings 1, 5 meters weighs a little more than 1 kilogram. The feathers are dyed brown. Prefers to settle in forest-steppe areas.
- Peregrine Falcon is a representative of the falcon family, a medium-sized bird with a wingspan of 1.2 meters and a weight of 1.3 kilograms. The peregrine falcon has a gray-gray color and will be an excellent assistant in sport hunting.
- Gyrfalcon is the largest species of the Falcon genus. Rare individuals that had a white color were considered the most expensive birds of prey. The wingspan reaches a length of 1.3 meters, and the gyrfalcon weighs 2 kilograms.
- The goshawk is a bird of the hawk genus with a brown or bluish color, the weight of an individual is 1.5 kilograms, the wingspan is 1.3 meters.
- The Sparrowhawk got its nickname for a reason. Such an assistant will be simply indispensable in quail hunting. Its small size allows it to be fast and agile. Adults reach a weight of no more than 300 g, and the wingspan barely exceeds 80 cm.
Bird keeping
First you need to buy a bird from people who specialize in this topic or in a store, or catch a future assistant yourself. In order for a bird to serve you faithfully, you need to “pull out” it from its usual habitat and tame it. Many experts recommend taking strong chicks or those fledglings that already know how to fly. At this age, birds are easier to learn.
After the future hunting bird is caught, it is necessary to place it in a wooden box or in a special spacious wicker basket. Not worth itforget about access to fresh air and comfortable warm bedding. The diet of the predatory hunter is finely chopped and pre-peeled meat, to which a raw egg is added. As for meat, it doesn’t matter to a bird of prey what kind it is. The main thing is that it must be fresh and, if possible, fat-free. Bone impurities are added to food so that the predator does not get rickets. Don't forget about water. Many hunters love to take baths. If you have such a bird, then you need to place a shallow basin where it is contained.
Hatchlings are fed 2-3 times a day, and if you already have an adult, then 1 feeding will be enough. If you went hunting with a hunter and fed her before that, the day will be wasted. A well-fed bird will not chase game. It is necessary to maintain strict control over proper nutrition.
You need to keep the bird in shape so that it does not weaken, but also does not become obese. The definition of the presence of overweight is the keel on the chest. If it is sharp and protruding, the bird is not fed enough, and if the keel is not palpable, it is time for your pet to lose weight.
Take care of the perch too. It is usually made from a tree stump, which will first be upholstered with cloth. On this "chair" the bird of prey will sit well.
There are categories of hunters that shed. If your bird is one of these, then it will need special care so that it does not fall out too many feathers. If this happens, she will not be able to help you hunt.
Preparing for the hunt
Tothe bird of prey has become your indispensable assistant, it must be tamed until it gets used to you. To do this, you need to feed it yourself, often wear it on your arm, using a hood that closes its eyes. After these operations, the bird will feel calm on your hand. When she gets used to you, you can start teaching her how to hunt.
The hunting bird is not given food for several days and is deprived of the opportunity to rest and sleep. These days, the bird is most often worn on one's hand. After this, they are taught to eat from the hand, then they are released for a short distance, controlling the flight with a long cord, and lured with the help of an established call. It would be ideal if the bird flies at your call without the use of baits and leashes. Then the predator is taught to hunt directly, at first they use a special stuffed animal (lure), and then live bait. The end of this stage of learning is that the bird will not peck at the prey, but simply bring it to the owner.
Practice shows that chicks that have been taken out of the nest are the easiest to learn, it is more difficult with young fledglings, and it is practically impossible to train an adult large bird of prey to help in hunting. However, while chicks taken from the nest are easily trainable, they grow much weaker and slower than juveniles or adult falcons.
It will take about 1 month for a bird to learn to help you hunt. The service life of feathered hunters often exceeds 10 years. If a birdstopped assisting in the hunt, it means that she has served you her.
Hunting Items
As for the equipment for such birds, this is a hood, trouser belt, a belt for which the hunter holds a trapper (has a length of 70-80 centimeters), bells (so that you can find a bird), a leather glove that will serve as protection from claws, lure (bait). Golden eagles need a special stand.
Hunting with birds of prey
First of all, the hunter must know that when a bird moults, it is incapable of assisting in the hunt. Birds of prey usually molt twice a year - in summer and autumn. The best time for hunting with hunters is early spring, late autumn and winter. The best time of day to hunt is morning or evening, before dark. Sneaking up on the game, the hunters set their birds of prey to hijack.
Hunting is also not worth it in bad weather. If the hunt is for large prey, then greyhounds are also involved. In one season, on average, a hunter with experience and a well-trained hunting bird hunts about 50 foxes, and in 1 day - up to 10 pheasants and 50 quails.
Stalkers in our time
World competitions of hunters with birds of prey these days are held not only for the sake of preserving the ancient traditions of hunting, but also for sporting interest. Hunting with hunters has been turned into a sport that is actively developing. Usually the program of such competitions includes hunting for a hare, a fox and a wolf. According to the established rules and evaluation criteriathe best hunter is selected with his assistant.
Interesting facts
Even during the reign of kings, birds of prey wore armor. In addition to the klobuk worn over the eyes, the predators had a suit of the royal court, which included a bib, skirts, a tail and a debtor. Leggings are leather rings worn on the paws. A debtor is a cord that was attached to the skirts at one end, and the hunter held the other end in his hand. Hoods were put on not only after the hunt, so that the bird could rest, but also on the way to the hunting place. This was done so that the bird, seeing its potential victims, would not rush from the hand and stretch its tendons.
