Gaukler hawk | Facts & Information
# Gaukler Hawk | Facts & Information
Gaukler Hawk | Discover Fascinating Facts and Information About Gaukler Hawk
The Gaukler Hawk (Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus) belongs to the order Falconiformes, family Accipitridae. It is not an endangered species.
Gaukler Hawk
890
Animals
36
Species
8
Languages
32
Facts
Origin
One of the slender birds of prey with long wings and splendid plumage is the Gaukler Hawk (Terathopius ecaudatus). Its range extends from the south of the Sahara to Africa and includes mainly savannas, forest edges and mountain peaks with altitudes of 4000 m.
This powerful bird of Prey is distinguished especially by its specific flight, by the habit of flapping its wings so violently that it makes an interesting noise, which is heard in the distance. It also rolls during flight, falls sharply sideways and rises, and then hovers.
Sometimes it also travels long distances of 500 km only in one day, flying at a speed of about 80 km/ h. it has the ability to spend almost the entire day in the air.
Gaukler Hawk Feed
It feeds on birds, reptiles, Carrion, rabbits, rats, mice and other small mammals.
It has a habit of catching birds on the fly, or hunting small mammals like eagles.
Features Gaukler Hawk
Its plumage on the body and head is black, on the back it is chestnut, and on the upper parts of the wings Gray. The face is naked, covered with thin skin of red or orange color.
Females differ from males in that in the shoulder area they have gray plumage, and the second row is white.
The long and sharp wings, with a wingspan of 175 cm and extremely short tail make it resemble a hawk but at the same time be easily recognized in flight. At maturity it has body length of 60 cm and weight around 2-3 kg.
The beak is curved, orange and Black towards the tip, has a notch on the top to manage to break the spine of the prey.
The legs are covered with thick and scaly skin of red color, they are robust, have three fingers pointed forward and One Backward, all provided with hard, sharp and curved claws, perfectly adapted to catch as in a pincer prey, to hold and crush it.
He often manages to kill prey with powerful claws, and not with his beak, claws break thin bones and pierce the vital organs of the victim.
It is famous for its very good visual acuity, this hawk manages to choose its prey from a great distance, a fact explained by the fact that it has large eyes, with retina endowed with a high concentration of conical cells. Each eye is positioned in a deep cavity so that it is protected from flailing prey.
It has the ability to locate prey and smell, especially carrion, olfactory sense being well developed.
Gaukler Hawk Breeding
During the mating season, the female and the male build a nest from twigs and dry grass, on a baobab tree, or other tree with an open canopy, and sometimes on a termite mound.
This way they will be closer to the prey, which consists of the small mother on the ground and will be able to feed their young more easily. The female lays only one egg in the Nest which is hatched for 42 days by both partners.
After hatching the egg appears helpless chick, which has the body covered with fluff. It is fed and protected by the mother bird for a period of 3-4 months until it manages to fly. Gaukler Hawks are monogamous birds, they form the same pair and nest in the same nest for many years in a row.
Young birds have brown plumage with white spots, and the face covered with greenish skin. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 years and have plumage similar to adults only at 6 years. They are generally silent birds, only from time to time their loud and thick Scream is heard.
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Gaukler hawk | Facts & InformationGaukler Hawk | Discover Fascinating Facts and Information About Gaukler Hawk