Desert Beauty

(Harris’s Hawk)

The Harris’s Hawk not only is a standout beauty in the desert but also amazes those fascinated by bird behavior. Hint: they are sometimes called Flying Wolves. Find one and you may see another seven or eight nearby, a pack, if you will. And much like the members of a wolf pack, they hunt cooperatively and share the rewards.

One account I found told of a pack chasing a jack rabbit, which dove into a patch of thickly twined branches to escape pursuit, then froze. The hawk pack circled. One landed near the opening through which the hare had disappeared and waited until the others landed, spaced evenly in a semi-circle on the far side of the brush pile. Only then did the first Harris’s move forward, step by taloned step, into the brambles. The hare, I imagine its eyes bulging and its heart racing, bolted away from the oncoming hawk and sprung the well-laid trap.

This type of cooperative behavior is unusual in the bird world. The Harris’s intelligence and cooperative nature make it a favorite “demonstration” hawk in museums, wildlife parks, and sanctuaries worldwide.