Species Rehab. Notes

A big part of the knowledge of a competent wildlife carer is the natural or life history of the species being cared for. If you do not know how the animal lives in the wild, it is hard to make it comfortable in captivity, and to make decisions about it's releasability. In this section, I am giving some background information on the Western Australian raptors, and rehab. requirements.

Back to Rehab. Index

The Skilled Hunter

The common name applied to raptors is 'birds of prey'. When considering the future of our patients the first and last question we should always ask is : "Will it be able to catch it's prey?".

Most species need to develop their hunting skills quickly after they fledge , and require a great deal of agility just to survive. It is a fact that many young birds die before they are a year old, simply because they have not learned adequate hunting skills. Older birds are generally better at coping with an injury or handicap, but even they need to have almost perfect function to survive.

The kinds of problems birds can overcome in the wild vary with the hunting style of the species. The Kestrel doesn't have to have a perfect hover, it can hunt from a perch; but a Peregrine Falcon may die if released with a missing back talon, and certainly won't live many days without perfect maneuverability.

This section isn't about identification- a good field guide and observation should tell you what species you have. However, it is difficult to identify young chicks, so where possible, I will include notes and pictures.

Hawks, Eagles and Allies

1. Osprey Pandion haliaetus
2. Black Shouldered Kite Elanus notatus
3. Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis
4. Swamp Harrier Circus approximans
5. White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
6. Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus
7. Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides
8. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus
9. Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrhocephalus
10. Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax

Top of Page

Falcons

1. Brown Falcon Falco berigora
2. Australian Hobby Falco longipennis
3. Australian Kestrel Falco cenchroides
4. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

Masked Owls

1. Barn Owl Tyto alba
2. Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae

Hawk Owls

1. Boobook Owl Ninox boobook
2. Barking Owl Ninox connivens

Back to Rehab. Index

Acknowledgements

The information in these histories is compiled from several books, including Birds of Prey and Ground Birds (1993) Olsen, Crome and Olsen. Photos are from various wildlife carers.

Site Map / Top of page / E-mail me