Sade'
(species information below)

Name: Was named by the falconer who originally owned her.
Date in: 7/19/91
Hatched: Spring 1988
Gender: Female
Age at arrival: 3 years
Came from: A falconer

Story: Sade' was purchased from a breeder in St.Louis who had a captive breeding permit. She was purchased by a local falconer who hunted her for 2 years until the winter of 90-91. During her time as a falconry bird she was a very good hunter and caught several rabbits each time out. The falconer perched her outside before he left for work one mild sunny morning. The temperature dropped unexpectedly due to Kentucky's unpredictable weather and Sade' was frostbitten. She lost the ends of each wing at the "wrist" joint. We accepted her, even though she is not native to Ky. because she is such a beautiful bird and we can point out the differences in Harris' Hawks and our comparable sized Red-tailed Hawks.

RANGE: Southwest region of U.S. through Central and South America to Chile. Northernmost faction being in southern California.

HABITAT: Upland deserts dominated by saguaro cacti, arid mesquite and paloverde woodlands and some juniper-oak habitat.

SIZE: LENGTH: 18-23 inches

WINGSPAN: 40-47 inches
WEIGHT: 1.3-2.6 pounds

LIFE EXPECTANCY:
Wild: Unknown
Captivity: Unknown

REPRODUCTION: Mostly nest in saguaro cacti or paloverde trees at height of 10-18 feet. Prolonged nesting season, eggs laid from mid-January to mid-August. Second and third clutches fairly common. Average clutch size of 3 eggs with incubation period of 35 days. The male will share incubation duties. The young fledge in 40-45 days and will remain in nesting territory for another 2 to 3 months.

DIET:
Wild: Desert cottontails, ground squirrels, quail, lizards, insects

BEHAVIOR: Extremely social raptor. Individual breeding groups reside in and defend breeding territories. In courtship flights the male goes into a vertical dive from 150-200 meter height and ends with upward swoop to the back of an adult female perched on top of a saguaro cactus, copulation immediately follows. Sometimes 2 males will do this courtship flight at the same time. This trio will remain together through the nesting season. This polyandry tends to insure nesting success. If one male dies, the other male is still there to bring food to the nest and to help protect it. Polyandry seems to be most common in Arizona, where there is a much higher ratio of males to females. Harris' Hawks often hunt cooperatively, using flush and ambush, surprise pounces and relay attack methods. Very tolerant of other raptors within their range.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Long legged and long tailed. Dark plumage with chestnut thighs and shoulder patches and white rumps. Dark brown eyes. Flies more energetically than other buteos. In winter, perch in groups of up to a dozen. Sometimes will stand on shoulders of each other, up to 5-7 high, called "stacking." Captive bred Harris' hawks are a favorite of falconers, they will actually hop from tree to tree as the falconer walks through the woods. Hunt cooperatively: one bird will approach a bramble thicket where a desert cottontail is hiding and flush the rabbit, meanwhile another Harris' Hawk is circling above and goes in for the kill. Kills are shared among the entire nesting group. Because of this Harris' Hawks are called the lions of the desert, since when they feed it looks like a pack of lions crowding around and getting their share. The Harris' Hawk is the only cooperative nesting raptor in the North America. During nesting season they develop a strictly defined social order involving an alpha male and female, beta male and female, and a gamma male and female.

STATUS: Declining in U.S. due to habitat alteration, i.e. urban sprawl.