Home above the Range 



Pairs of aplomado falcons are nesting in the Southwest again, 

 showing off their incredible hunting and flying skills. 



By W. Grainger Hunt, Tom J. Cade, and Angel B. Montoya 



A small flock of red-winged blackbirds is fly- 

 ing fast, with the wind, when a larger bird 

 launches upward and picks out a target from 

 the moving group. Bird chases bird, one hunter, one 

 prey. In level flight the hunter turns on a burst of 

 speed — firing up its afterburners, so to speak — and 

 closes the gap on the prey. The blackbird looks like 

 a goner, as if somehow the wind had shifted against 

 it or some unseen force were pulling the smaller bird 

 toward its antagonist. Just in time, the blackbird takes 

 evasive action, by jinking and diving for cover. 



But the hunter has an unusually long tail, a strong 

 rudder that gives it agility as well as speed. Another 

 pursuer might respond to the blackbird's darts and 

 evasions with a wide, banking turn before returning 

 to the chase; instead, this hunter abruptly reverses 

 direction and follows closely as the blackbird makes 

 a mad, twisting, zigzag dash for a bush. Not a sec- 

 ond too soon, the prey dives into the bush, while 

 the hunter shoots past and climbs steeply, looking 

 down over its shoulder at the missed prize. 



Many hunting birds, including the peregrine fal- 

 con and others, give up if their intended prey reach- 

 es cover. Incredibly, though, 

 this hunter seems to be in 

 two places at once. As it ris- 

 es and circles, a second 

 hunter — its wingman, so to 

 speak — plunges into the 

 bush and flushes out the hid- 

 ing blackbird. The flying 

 chase begins anew. 



In fact, there are two 

 hunters: a breeding pair of 

 falcons known as aplomados 

 ( / hlcofcnwralis) that work to- 

 gether, anticipating each , [ 



other's next move. Observ- 



ing a single aplomado or a cooperative hunting pair 

 in flight is a wondrous experience. The lofty bird-on- 

 bird chases feature thrilling, split-second escapes, as- 

 tonishing aerial acrobatics, and often, in the end, a 

 successful kill. Like the gyrfalcon and the merlin, the 

 aplomado can suddenly accelerate in level flight. And, 

 if the prey tries to escape by flying upward, the aplo- 

 mado can follow it, climbing at a steeper angle than 

 even the gyrfalcon. Again and again it may climb above 

 its prey, harassing it with repeated raking passes. And 

 unlike the far-ranging flights of the gyrfalcon or the 

 peregrine, the aplomado s proclivity for tight turns of- 

 ten keeps the entire sequence within sight of the hu- 

 man observer [see illustration on pages 52 and 53]. 



Not many people have heard of the aplomado 

 falcon, let alone seen it in action. Its slow- 

 blooming reputation has long been eclipsed by such 

 legendary bird hunters as the gyrfalcon, the merlin, 

 and the peregrine. As falcons go, the aplomado is 

 about average in size, weighing in at just under a 

 pound: smaller than both the peregrine and the gyr- 

 falcon, and larger than the merlin. Compared to 

 those birds, the aplomado s 

 most unusual characteristic 

 is its long tail. But it is no 

 peacock plume. The tail is 

 reminiscent of the tails of 

 the largely insectivorous 

 kestrels and hobbies or. to 

 cue other hunting birds, of 

 the tails of accipiters — 

 hawks known for then- 

 sharp turns — such as the 

 Cooper's hawk. And even 

 the name aplomado, a Span- 

 ish word meaning "lead- 

 colored," distinguishes only 



May 2006 NATURA1 HISTORY 



