ADVENTURES WITH BIRDS OF PREY 



113 



COME ANY CLOSER AND YOU XL FEEL MY CLAWS! 



If the photographers had approached a few more steps, the young barn owl would have flipped 

 back on his tail so fie could use his needle-sharp talons for defense, kicking his feet in the air like a 

 spoiled child. When tamed, these birds make attractive pets and have even been trained to hunt 

 (page 124). The Craigheads had one which they named "Windy" because of his his.sing. 



KEEN-EYED PRAIRIE FALCONS, EAGER TO LEAVE THE NEST 



Though able to fly, they were so far above the ground in their cliffside home in Wyoming that 

 they were afraid to take off, even when the authors climbed down to the eyrie. The Craigheads 

 found that this bird, when trained, was not so fast as the duck hawk, but seemed shiftier on the wing. 



