I think that the new youngster was hassling his mom for food.
Young and beautiful! You can see that its head was still developing.
The African harrier-hawk, harrier hawk or gymnogene (Polyboroides typus) is a bird of prey. It is about 60–66 centimetres (24–26 in) in length. It breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. The only other member of the genus is the allopatric Madagascar harrier-hawk. African harrier-hawks are a common raptorial species south of the Sahara being most commonly found in the tropical regions of western Africa becoming less common in East and South Africa.
African harrier-hawks are adaptable in their habitat preferences, occupying the following habitats in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic: thick rainforest, forest edge, riparian areas, agricultural land and human occupied areas. African harrier-hawks are adaptable and able to live in both urban and rural human occupied areas and they are one of the most common raptorial species in traditional rural villages of eastern Guinea-Bissau. African harrier-hawks have also been known to breed in Palm trees present in cities and urban gardens.
This was another one that we found in another place.
As I approached it took off, and I thought that we would not see them again.
But hold on, as what was this later in the afternoon?
A harrier hawk coming over to land at the top of a tree in the distance.
Sitting around and scouting for prey.
But suddenly another hawk arrived to dive bomb the one on the tree.
So, I realized that it was the two that we saw earlier in the day.
The light at the action part was not good, as I took the shots from our car, and this gave me the thought that it was not a harrier hawk hassling its mom, but rather two youngsters fighting to claim territory. They were obviously born in the same area, and now each claim it as its own. So it's going to be interesting to see who wins in this fight. I think that it will be the first one that we saw, as its head was more developed than the second one.
Territory is very important for the birds of prey, as there will not be enough food to support two raptors. So, at times they can fight to the death to claim and protect their territory. But not only the hawks, as we have also seen wild geese fighting with their parents in an attempt to take over the territory where they were born. So, the parents breed the children, and then the children fight to kick the parents out of their house. Something sounds familiar here. :)
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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