C A L I F O R N I A C O N D O R
A large bird of prey with a ten foot wingspan.
These are vultures left over from the Ice Age,
soaring over a landscape rich with Sabre Tooth Tiger,
Woolly Mammoths and ground sloths that appeared
near the size of elephants. By 1982 the condor was at
the brink of extinction with its population down to
twenty-two. As scavengers they became the victim
of ranchers who set out poisoned carrion
in order to kill coyotes that preyed upon
their livestock.
A captive breeding program has increased their
numbers to over six hundred, as of 2025.
This vulture loves meat, as any raptor should,
but it first has to already be dead.
Birds of prey are required to have talons
powerful enough to hold fast their struggling
prey, then kill it and carry it away.
A vultures feet are good only for standing.
There is no need to tightly grasp a
desperate morsel.
B A L D E A G L E
The term Bald in the name is from the Old English
balde, which means "white head", not bald like
a head naked of feathers.
Designated by Congress as the National Emblem in
1782, the Bald Eagle was right out of central casting,
an icon of strength, resolve and justice.
The truth is more complicated, as you might expect.
Survival is the animal's goal in the wild.
Use your energy efficiently. Why go to the effort of
killing food when you can eat something that is
already dead, waiting for your appetite? Eagles
mostly scavenge. They also resort to
bullying osprey and other smaller birds of prey
and steal their lunch.
Still, they look spectacular performing their
grab and dash fishing skills while skimming
a river's surface.
R E D - T A I L E D H A W K
Look at all the surface area of this bird's wings
and tail. Broad wings and a fanned tail sacrifices
speed for the sake of lift. Warm air carries the bird
upward to great heights, and with little effort on
the part of the bird. Burn your calories sparingly,
especially in the desert when a meal might be
limited to a scraggly jackrabbit, itself half-starved.
From this floating perch the hawk surveys the
terrain below with a vision that is eight times
sharper than that of a human, looking for mice,
lizards, snakes and anything else small enough
to carry off.
The female Red-Tailed Hawk is about twenty-five
percent larger than the male. It makes sense
that she have the muscle, since she's the one
left defending the nest. Also, and this is more
important, a brawny mom is able to wrest meat
from the beak of a male, reluctant to share
his meal with the nestlings.
P E R E G R I N E F A L C O N
This bird isn't made to soar.
The Falcon is all about speed.
The long, narrow wings and slim, aerodynamic
tail; its sleek airframe tough enough to withstand
speeds reaching over two-hundred miles an hour
in a dive. Falcons prey on birds in flight.
Its critical you kill your target with your talons.
A bird to bird collision makes you both
equally dead.
The falcon's vision is comparable to that of the hawk
but each species utilizes this advantage differently.
Hawks look about for small animals to eat from
a great height overhead. The falcon behaves
as a bullet adjusting its own path in flight to
achieve the perfect, lethal hit.
G R E A T H O R N E D O W L
What is the point in having a head that can swivel
nearly all the way around? There is a reason
behind everything. In this instance, the neck's
dexterity compensates for the owl's limited
peripheral vision. The owl has wonderful eyes.
Why this weakness?
Rule of everything - nothing's perfect.
Nature is filled with trade-offs. You have to
give up something to get something.
One factor contributing to the owl's spectacular
sight has to do with the bird's unusual eyeball
shape. Its oblong. And it is this characteristic
that enables the eye to close in on an object,
acting as a telephoto lens does in a camera.
Achieving this feat of vision requires an eye
so large it barely fits its socket, making the eye
totally unable to move.
Hence the swivel neck.
Nature gives up something to get something
in return. In this case, what is being sacrificed
for game-changing vision? The individual can
see only straight ahead. Unacceptable.
The compensatory solution: a neck that
can twist to 270 of the circle's 360 degrees.
Nature's judgment: the species thrives with these
choices having been made.
B R O W N P E L I C A N
How do you grasp your prey when your feet are webbed?
Talons are useless for swimming and pelicans
must be fast swimmers to catch their prey.
The solution for grasping lies elsewhere.
Most birds of prey lead with their feet when attacking
their prey. They attack with a powerful grip, using their
long claws like teeth. The pelican attacks head first
in pursuit of a targeted fish. Growing teeth on their bill
was tried by ancient species, all extinct. It made the
head needlessly heavy. Claws became the bird's teeth.
We've ruled out talons and now, teeth as well.
The problem is we are looking to grip the prey
when all we have to do is control it. Bag it.
A pouch, and one that is elastic would work.
It would expand to scoop up and retain a large,
thrashing fish. But this expansive gullet is not
for storage. Once the prey is corralled, the
pelican slings back its head and swallows
the fish whole. No arguments.
Just a meal.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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