At 05:25 PM 10/12/97 -0700, you wrote:

>On Sun, 12 Oct 1997, Michael Price wrote:

>> Is a RTHA X RLHA hybrid inconceivable in nature? Could this have been a
>> falconer's experiment? !!?
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>Michael, Michael...go to your room! Shame, shame, shame... :)

> Let's not add to the anti-falconry stuff that's already
> out there..

Why do you construe this as "anti-falconry"? Falconers do cross various
falcon species, for example gyr x 'grine. So it doesn't seem unreasonable
to ask if they may cross buteos. He does, after all, describe a very
strange bird, a red-tail with a mark claimed to be diagnostic by Bill
Clark (and I checked the Peterson's Hawk Book which he authored, and which
I presume is Michael's source, and it says just that in no uncertain terms).

So, this distinguishing mark on a red-tail would reasonably lead one to
speculate regarding hybridization as a possible cause. And since my source
claims hybridization in nature has "never been reported" (not the same as
saying "never happens", of course, but pretty strong), captivity would be
the only other possibility. And, who other than falconers breed significant
numbers of raptors?

So, I think it's a reasonable question and can't understand why it comes
across as being "anti-falconry".

Of course, I can't imagine why a falconer would do such a cross since the
rough-leg presumably doesn't have any features a falconer wants.

> Now, let's see...a rough legged hawk has really, really
> tiny feet..

Actually, they're not *that* tiny. Small for a buteo, yes, but it's not
like they have hummer feet or the like! :)



- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
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