Birds of Costa Rica 2: part 3

Common Black Hawk (busardo negro aka. gavilán cangrejero negro (lit. Black Crab-eating Hawk)
Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Kites, Eagles, and Hawks Family
§A Kettle of Hawks§

~True Bird Fact~ Black Hawks are specialized to hunting prey in the water (hence the 'crab-eater' above). They can wade around in shallow water to startle fish and then use their wings to 'herd' them to spots where they can be picked off more easily. They also like to perch on low branches and then drop suddenly into the water to snatch up crabs, fish, and crawfish. Sounds like a nice life.

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (colibrí cola rojiza)

Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Hummingbird Family

§A Bouquet of Hummingbirds§

{Etymology Corner} Something that's always fun is when you get a picture of a bird with a name that's like the "named-after-an-incredibly-obvious-physical-feature hummingbird" and somehow the angle that you get is the only possible one where that feature isn't visible. Makes you real cautious about the ol' ID. But I think that's probably what he is. There's not a lot of options in terms of the pink/orange bill. Anyway, this guy has kind of a red tail area.

~True Bird Fact~ Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds have a pretty rare social set-up- they live in loose colonies with one male and many females. In this setup, the male mates with the females and the females are responsible for nest-building, egg-incubating, and child rearing. How's that for a division of labor? Sheesh.

I know, I know, this is far and away the worst photo I have uploaded to the blog, a true #worstbirdpic, but I was so excited to see this guy and this is the only shot I got of him. C'est la vie. Maybe he will appear again on this blog when I get a good shot.

Crested Caracara aka. Mexican Eagle aka. Mexican Buzzard (carancho aka. traro)

Peninsula de Papagayo, Liberia, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica
May 2024
Member of the Falcon Family

~True Bird Fact~ The only falcon to build a nest- all others just kind of lay eggs in the dirt, or use the old nest of other birds. Seems to be a bit of an intelligence outlier among this family to be honest- they also have learned to follow trains and cars to feed on discarded food. 

~Real Bird Myth~ As you might expect for such a distinctive and charismatic bird, the Crested Caracara features prominently in mythology. In the Aztec founding legend, the bird that shows them where to build their capital city is probably the Caracara. The legend goes that the sun god, Huitzilopochtli, told them they would build a city where they find an eagle perched on a cactus, holding a snake. This image may sound familiar to some, as it is depicted on the Mexican flag. Of course, the city they found is Tenochtitlan, which is the modern day Mexico City. The beautiful narrative here is only somewhere tainted by the fact that the bird on the modern Mexican flag is very clearly a Golden Eagle. Different interpretations of the same myth, it seems.

Go Falcons! An Unbiased Bird Analysis

Peregrine Falcon aka. Peregine aka. Duck Hawk (archaic)
Point Lobos State Natural Preserve, Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, USA
October 2016
Member of the Falcon Family
§An Eyrie of Falcons§
★Fastest Animal on Earth, Clocked in at 242mph in a Swoop Are You Freaking Kidding Me★
★The World's Most Widespread Raptor, Can Be Found in Every Non-Ice-Covered Land Mass Except New Zealand Holy Moly★
★Nation Bird of the United Arab Emirates★
★Official Bird of Chicago★
 
~true bird fact~ One of the species most impacted by the use of the pesticide DDT, in 1975 there were only about 300 pairs left alive in the USA. He was on the endangered species list from 1970 til 1999, and the population remains strong today. Recovery efforts were not just aided by the elimination of our use of these pesticides, but also by centuries of falcon-handling knowledge from falconers who had long trained these birds for hunting and sports. Dang what a cool bird.

I hear there's some kinda football game coming up in which some Falcons will take on the New England Patriots, so I thought I might include some football related stats to help you figure out which team to root for on Superbowl Sunday. For the purposes of this calculation I assume the mascot of the New England Patriots is a human man of a patriotic nature. You could make a case that it's a Bald Eagle, but don't be silly, birds aren't patriotic, despite whatever meanings are attached to them.

Weight of a football: 15oz
Weight of the heaviest likely prey of a falcon: 38oz
Verdict: A falcon can easily lift a football and carry it above the heads of the football men. An average NFL football player weighs around 260lbs. It would take 109 falcons to carry an NFL player comfortably, but I bet they could do it with less if they really tried. This would be a truly terrifying spectacle.

Speed of the fastest linebacker: 18.68mph
Speed of a falcon chasing prey: 69mph
Verdict: The falcon would never be caught by a patriot, and would easily pursue him if he tried to escape. In fact the fastest football pass was 59mph, meaning the falcon could even intercept the ball mid-air.


Weight of a Falcon: ~3lbs
Force of a Falcon Strike: 145 Newtons
Force of an NFL Tackle: 7117 Newtons
Verdict: Well, a patriotic football man definitely hits hard, but we've already established there are over 100 falcons here, so I think there should be no problem

Prediction: Falcons win the SuperbOwl!

Bird Couples: American Kestrel

American Kestrel aka. Sparrow Hawk aka. Grasshopper Hawk aka. Killy Hawk (regional)
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Falcon Family
 §A Flight of Kestrels§


~true bird fact~ Kestrels are migratory birds, but males and female migrate at separate times. Females go south first and stake out prime open grassland territory. When the males follow they are left to hunt in wooded areas which are (presumably) more difficult.

(Female)

A serious and successful falcon
Makes up for her draining work time with an ample social circle
People wonder 'how she does it'
No one gets in her way, if they know what's good for them

Male

Stoic and silent, but has a kind presence

A younger man

Values his partner's independence and unthreatened by her success

Their relationship may lack official status, but it is undoubtedly a serious and loving one.