I'll be the first to admit, I have minimal falconry experience compared to others. I'm not even sure I fully understand ringing flights, other than what has been discussed and derived from this thread. I'm much more visual when it comes to learning, so if someone could show me a video of these flights, that would be great.

With that said, I'm a full believer that by shaping behaviors and properly reinforcing approximations, anything is possible, within physical boundaries. I'm not saying you can teach a dog to fly. It is my understanding that that was the topic of discussion, properly shaping the desired behavior.

From most of what I have read, and have been taught, falconry is all about getting the bird to do what comes natural to the individual you are working with, as long as the end result is taking the game desired with the help of the falconer. Many of the same concepts are used, such as whistling when it comes time to feed. Falconers are creating the bridge from the moment the bird is off the trap and food is introduced. Positive reinforcement and timing are all being used as well, the bird follows, you whistle (Bridge), the bird returns for R1 (food). Everything else that takes place, as far as hunting style is concerned, is up to the bird to determine based on outside factors.

Now, if you are desiring a certain hunting style with a bird that might not figure it out on it's own, you shape it, as was posted above. Can this same style be found in certain circumstances, naturally; yes. Was it the intention, maybe, maybe not.

If you break those factors down, quarry means nothing, it's just the intended mark. Right now I've got a falcon we are trying to teach to target a fake banana. I will change the intended target later, but for right now, a banana is the most unique thing we came up with. In one session, the bird has already recognized that to get it's food, it has to touch the banana.

Suitable open ground is going to be a bit vague. You can fly in the woods, you can fly in a building, small field, large field, desert, as long as it was compatible with what you were trying to accomplish.

Confidence can be trained, we do it all the time. Some birds get it on their own accord, and some need baggies. You could also reinforce the effort, even if the end result wasn't the intended outcome. Let's say the bird put in a great flight but came up short; bridge the behavior at the appropriate approximation and reinforce manually. Confidence can be lost as well, but can be regained, maybe not as easily.

Mental attitude is going to be the biggest factor, sometimes it can't be overcome. However, to mark it off as a lost cause immediately, may be foolish. Some individuals have different motivators. You take an individual that isn't food motivated, you could say it has a poor mental attitude as it doesn't want your reinforcement. The problem was that you weren't reinforcing at all.

I think shaping can surely out way natural learning, as that's only another method of shaping. However, it's going to take some work on the trainer's behalf, and how much work do you want to put in? You're last statement is dead on, why fight it, if you don't have to.

As far as my subject targeting fake bananas, it's as nuts as it sounds. I've already decided how much work I want to put into this behavior, and if it doesn't pan out, I'll turn it in great falconry bird. It's all about how much work do you want to invest.