Understanding the Bird of Prey

Understanding the Bird of Prey is aimed at everyone working hands-on with raptors. Falconers, breeders, conservationists, racing enthusiasts and rehabilitators will all find it invaluable. Building on the original 1995 edition, this new volume is almost twice the size, with 360 new photos and 206 technical illustrations. It includes a new section on falconry - flying trained falcons at robotic prey - and a section on ethics for those dealing with thorny issues surrounding the conservation and management of raptors.

Each of the 11 chapters has been peer-reviewed by independent specialists and is supported by its own bibliography. Accompanying this book are ten 90-minute modular films on managing birds of prey, together with additional films from real-life conservation projects.

Dr. Nick Fox, OBE has been a professional raptor biologist since 1975, running conservation programs in UK, New Zealand, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and elsewhere as Director of Falcon Research and Management for the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi. A lifelong farming conservationist and falcon breeder, he has managed the Northumberland Crow Falcons for thirty years, hawking on horseback. Dr. Fox has published many scientific papers and organised the four largest International Festivals of Falconry. He wrote the initial submission to UNESCO resulting in Falconry being inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.

In recent years he has developed robotic prey for falcons and organised races at Vowley, the Home of British Falcon Racing. He received the OBE for services to Falconry and the Conservation of Birds of Prey in 2014.