Quote Originally Posted by Tanner View Post
I know that the argument has always been that bat falcons just didn't recognize northern raptors in the US and were thus easily picked off (and I believe the same was said about Orange breasted falcons). There has to be more to it than that. One consideration is that those birds were way way too far north in Idaho - they are not built to deal with those temperatures, not even close, and that can certainly affect their performance. Maybe some were flown too lean whilst trying to make them fly in an un-natural way (this happens to small falcons of all kinds, often).

Does it really make sense that a bird this size and with this build truly couldn't out fly and/or out maneuver a prairie falcon?? A prairie falcon??????

Whatever the reason, it's too bad that the limited numbers that were in this country at one point never amounted to much.
I think you have to consider that while classified as falcons, they are built differently. They look like a flying cross in the air, proportionally different from anything else in our region and a wing beat that's different as well. Things like that stand out.

In regards to OBF's specifically, I don't know that they would have a good place in falconry. The habitat they prefer is so unique and they are a very sensitive species that is dramatically in decline. They hunt from very very high pitches and do not go to ground for the most part. If they hit something in the stoop and don't bind, it falls through the canopy where they do not go, hence the large feet. So that dictates that their natural prey base is small'ish birds; things they can carry back to the very high cliffs they are usually found nesting on. They don't really have any predators from the air so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they don't recognize the larger falcons in our area. Everything bigger than them is down near/beneath the canopy for the most part save for vultures etc. Sure peregrines migrate through, but i'd wager the OBF is a overhead watching them fly by for the most part.

Bat falcons, while similar, seem to have much less issue adapting and thriving in an ever changing ecosystem and landscape. I'm not as familiar with them, but know they are fairly common.

Something that I believe is important and practically impossible to do anything about is the dry climates in the states. Their world is anywhere from wet to saturated much of the year. The affects are unknown, granted other species such as ornate hawk-eagles and harpy's do ok, but they are obviously much larger and have more wiggle room.