Article 54GWW Birdwatch: the hobby – a spectacular flypast from Ferrari of the skies

Birdwatch: the hobby – a spectacular flypast from Ferrari of the skies

by
Stephen Moss
from on (#54GWW)

Falcon, built for agility and rapid response, can pursue insects in flight

Sometimes, a bird doesn't just appear in your field of view, but forces itself instantly into your consciousness. So, as soon as I noticed a movement in the skies outside my office window, I instantly knew that it was something special. And it was: a hobby, scything through the warm spring air like a swift on steroids.

The hobby is to a kestrel what a Ferrari is to a Ford: the same basic blueprint, but honed into a high-speed version, built for agility and rapid response. Hobbies don't pursue earthbound mice and voles, but aerial insects such as dragonflies, which are pretty fast flyers themselves. Indeed, the name of this slender falcon comes from a medieval French verb meaning to dart about".

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/environment/rss
Feed Title
Feed Link http://feeds.theguardian.com/
Reply 0 comments