Fleece Footed Alpine Hawk

The name is a misnomer, as the Fleece Footed Alpine Hawk is actually a species of eagle, rather than a hawk.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A large bodied raptor with feathered feet, a feathered crest on the head, and large beak. The Fleece Footed Alpine Hawk displays sexual dimorphism between males and females: females are larger than the male counterpart, and have smaller cheek patches, with less coloration over all. Males have blue flight feathers and tail fans. Immature individuals regardless of sex also have different coloration than adults and have smaller crests, and are primarily black and white to blend into their environment. As per their name, they have highly feathered legs and feet of soft down.

Genetics and Reproduction

Males with the brightest coloration are sought out by females, and in turn seek out the largest and strongest females. Males will attempt to impress a female by puffing up their crests and depositing a kill at her feet, fanning out their wings and tails while backing away. If impressed, the female will eat the kill and allow the male to mate with her while she eats. They will then build a nest in cliffs, rock faces, or extremely tall trees out of all available materials, about 4 feet wide and supported with sticks and branches. Eggs are laid in the late spring or early summer, although pairs will mate throughout the year to reaffirm their bond.
Only one to three eggs are laid per season, and often are victim to vicious storms and the bitter cold, with a very high mortality rate for chicks. Even if a pair has multiple offspring, usually only one will survive to become a subadult. Subadults stay with their parents until around two years of age and are kicked out of their parents' territory to find their own. If multiple offspring survive and there are multiple males, they will often stay together until finding their own mates, at which point they will go their separate ways and be enemies should they cross paths again. Occasionally, groups of unrelated young males are found, due to the high mortality rate among nestlings.

Growth Rate & Stages

As chicks, the Alpine Hawk grows quickly, reaching a subadult size in only four months, however are significantly weaker than their adult counterparts. The next two years of life with their parents will see the chicks putting on muscle, learning to hunt, and learn the general survival characteristics of their species. At around two years old they will begin to reach sexual maturity and shed their subadult coloration, taking on that of an adult and be pushed out of their parent's territory.
At this time, males will often form gangs of usually brothers before finding a mate. They will hunt and live together, while unpaired females generally live alone and will claim a territory. Once paired they will hunt and breed together for the next 48 years.

Ecology and Habitats

As the name suggests, these birds of prey are most at home in cold, mountain forests. Due to a shrinking environment and lack of prey, their numbers have significantly dropped over the years, and reintroduction programs are making efforts to put breeding pairs back in their native ranges.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Alpine Hawk feeds on small to medium prey such as small mammals, rabbits, foxes, and deer, along with other smaller birds. Cannibalism has not been recorded in this species, as their territories are large and generally absent of others of their kind. They will also scavenge the kills of other animals, such as those of the Needlecoat Wolf. Very rarely, if there is a river or lake in their territory, will they also eat fish.
Most often the Alpine Hawk will kill small prey by simply crushing it with its talons to break its spine, such as squirrels and rabbits, or simply eat mice, shrews, and moles whole. When hunting other birds, they will kill them via crushing the spine or biting the neck to severe it. Large prey such as deer or foxes, a different tactic is used. As they generally go after wounded or young individuals, the Alpine Hawk will pick up the prey they can and drop them from a great height onto their rocky environments, or through trees and swoop in to kill the now severely wounded prey if it still lives.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Like many birds of prey, the Alpine Hawk often pairs for life with their mate, occasionally taking on lesser mates for a season who are generally younger and less experienced. Unmated males will group up in gangs, usually of brothers, up to four individuals until finding a mate. These birds are highly social with their mates and family, but extremely aggressive to outsiders, known to chase them off and if the stranger doesn't leave or poses a threat to their young, may be killed by the pair. Females of this species are much more aggressive and fiercely defend their territories, even chasing off males that could be potential mates if they have young.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

These large bodied birds are highly sought after by experienced falconers and being quite food motivated, can be trained with many weeks of long training sessions and proper trust in hand reared individuals. Raising these birds is not for the inexperienced, and due to their conservation status, are restricted only to only falconers working with conservation groups, and the animal must be registered and part of breeding programs by law. All captive Fleece Foots are equip with radio trackers and ID bands, making them easy to track should they get loose.
Wild Fleece Footed Alpine Hawks are notoriously stubborn and aggressive, who will bite, claw, and bludgeon any person who comes too close to them. Paired with females being incredibly aggressive when they have young or eggs, this has caused some issue with people in their native ranges who view the birds as a pest. Although it is highly illegal to hunt, kill, or injure them, many farmers still continue the practice as the birds tend to nest within range of their livestock in tall trees, and will prey on young cows, sheep, pigs, or goats.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Tundra, arctic, and mountain environments, primarily in Central Asia.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

These birds have incredible eyesight and hearing, although they mostly hunt by sight alone. Their night vision is also quite good, able to see roughly as well as they do in the daytime. Their eyes allow them to pick up on small movement extremely well, excellent for hunting small scurrying prey in the snow.

Origin/Ancestry

Central Asia

Lifespan

50 years

Conservation Status

Threatened

Average Physique

Fleece Footed Alpine Hawks are large bodied raptors, with thick muscular legs and strong necks for ripping apart prey. Their wings are also quite large and well muscled, and can cause injury by flapping them. It is reported by conservationists that the birds can often break a person's nose if struck with a wing. Their talons, also similarly massive and hooked, have incredible grip and can shatter a wrist if they clamp onto it and refuse to let go or begin to struggle while being held.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

These birds are largely white with brown and black details with banded wings. Males have striking dark to light blue primary feathers on their wings and tails, with larger cheek patches. Immature or subadult birds are mostly white, with brown and black speckles, and chicks are all white.