Shikra's (Accipiter badius) "the minature Goshawk"

[Tim Laycock]

In Colonel Delme-Radcliffe's Notes on the Falconidae used in Falconry in India(1871).
He says of the Shikra- Shikras "Are not the sort of bird that any English gentleman would bother Himself with".

Not being a gentleman by any strech or the imagination, this intrigued me.

Does anyone on the forum have any experience of the Shikra?

Is there a single specimen in the UK?

The one in the picture below sure has some stout little legs!

[ColdZero]

isn't a miniature goshawk a sparrowhawk? :shock: . What size are they exactly, and why would you want to fly one ie what quarry are they suitable for.
i have just realised that you are asking for information too, so someone else answer please :lol:

(black spars are still better no matter what anyone says)

[OhMyGod]

I believe these birds are similar in size to nisus but in the wild they will not really take feather. They are very pretty birds but their main prey species are lizards and small reptiles or rodents. I don't believe they have any real value to falconry, and think they are more similar to chanting goshawks than our spars, and you can not compare them to black spars. that would be like comparing a ferrari to a fiesta.

Just my opinion hope this helps

[Isaac]

There's a bunch of them here in Japan. Mostly as pets I believe so I can't answer much about the falconry aspect of it (although there is a picture on a japanese website of one with a sparrow). The ones that I've seen are much smaller than my spar though. I'd say about the size of an American kestrel, maybe slightly larger. I knew a guy that was training one but it died. I'll see what he has to say about it...
-Isaac

[Falconry Equipment International]

I flew one of these for a season for PG in '72/73 season, great fun but only really good for sparrows , although we did mug 4 starlings as well, 1 st proper hunting bird I flew & taught me a lot about basic fieldcraft. Short little fet compared to a Spar & funnily enough not nearloy so manoverable or fast IMHO ( Having said that it could be something to do with way I flew/ trained etc?, can't really add much more
SJ

[ColdZero]

yeah they do eat reptiles..if this is the same bird, looks pretty damn similar to me, but i have a nack of being wrong about stuff.

[Athene]

I'm sorry, that's a Buteo magnirostris, an american species.

[Fenman46]

Roadside hawh,, athene?

[Finnish]

Smaller than Levant Sparrowhawk, with more rounded wings, but otherwise resembling it in colour pattern. A good veiw of a perched bird would show 5 or 6 tail bars whilst the Levant Sparrowhawk has 6 to 8.

Food:Small birds, small mammals, including bats, and large insects. Most prey are taken from the ground, but some on the wing. It will snatch lizards from walls, and plunders nestings from sparrows nests.

[Moses]

these are the same birds the pakistanis palm and throw at birds dont they

i saw a drawing of it on the net and also that book jack sold me

[Athene]

Err... I was wrong. It is a Buteo lineatus (The one with the lizzard). I wrote the message too early this morning. :oops:

[Finnish]

Rang:From the southern USSR to China, and throughout Africa south of the Sahara.

[Tim Laycock]

You can tell Its no Accipiter thats for sure, Just look at the eye.
Gone out looking, No fire!! :wink:

[Falconry Equipment International]

You can tell Its no Accipiter thats for sure, Just look at the eye.
Gone out looking, No fire!! :wink:
BB are you talking 1st or second pic? even 1st pic had differneces to one I fl;ew, mine was more squat, shorter , more sout legs, more like a tinny Gos an mine was much much darker than this. Definte accipiter tho( your right about the eyes tho! :wink:

[Finnish]

Hey SJ got any pic's of yours that you mate.

[Falconry Equipment International]

Hey SJ got any pic's of yours that you mate.
pretty unlikely, I had a good sort out the other day of my photo' for racing and also leigh Jauncey after his post. Lost most of my posecsions in house fire just over 10 yrs ago ( got some pics of that:( ), inc most photo's etc. If I post some I'll upload them but bear in kmind they will be pretty basic, taken on an instamatic camera by a early teenager (VBG)
SJ :wink:

[Ali]

If anyone is intrested in in flying a hawk should always start his hobby or intrest with a shikra, they are easily obtained here like i got my own trappers just a few hundred ruppees and you get a shikra at your door steps, the method of calling off is some what like this, when the shikra has been manned by medicine or other means it should be fed on fist for 3 days and kept on the fist for three days and 3 nights, and on the fourth day you just tie a length of string to the jesses set the hawk on the ground and holding the end of the string call it from a short distance this should be done 2 times daily but when in the morning it should only be a bite of meat not more than that and in the evening it should be let free to feed upon its own wish and will but the feed you feed it in the evening should be well soaked in water before you give it to her this should be done and the distance should be increased day by day, and after one and a half week it will be very friendly indeed as well as well manned, and comes at once on your voice it should be flown on the quarry a partridge, quail or a crow but do keep it mind when it takes its first quarry do feed it with the blood,brain and heart of wht she has hunted.
Ali

[Tim Laycock]

I meant the second picture SJ, the first is an accipiter beyond doubt :wink:

[Tim Laycock]

How do you slip them Ali, do you throw them?

[Falconry Equipment International]

I meant the second picture SJ, the first is an accipiter beyond doubt :wink:
Yup that is what I hoped you meant BB , second looks more like decent pursuit quarry for a non game hawking falcon <BG> :roll: :lol: :rolleyes: :yawinkle:
If you get the chance to fly one do it. I am sure you will get more out of it than I did in those days, if you can imagine a cross between a musket (As opposed to a F) P/R spar and a very, very small gos your' somehwweer near what I remmber. tenacious little git good manners when she chose to have em & by crickley some exciting flights, as I said before mostly at sparrows but was great fun bating hedges etc for her :wink:

[Tim Laycock]

Doesnt look like any one on here knows of a single specimen in the Uk
so unfortunatly I will probably never set eyes on one, Let alone get to try one out for myself :|

[Ali]

Yes mate you can throw it too as well as fly it from your fist but all depends on how you tame it and how much time you can give it to fullfill the requirements

[Tim Laycock]

Of course :wink:

[Fenman46]

If sj ,,will let me i would take loads of pics on my browning instamatic , i know he has a few pretty birds,Look out bobmarly here we come :roll: :D :D

[The Late Lord Lucan]

If sj ,,will let me i would take loads of pics on my browning instamatic ,

Is that a Browning SEMI Automatic, or a Kodak INSTAmatic????????

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Regards,
LLL.

[OutFlying]

http://users.cybercity.dk/~ccc12787/misc/radcliffe02.html#badius

link to delme radcliffes views on them.

[Falconry Equipment International]

If sj ,,will let me i would take loads of pics on my browning instamatic ,

Is that a Browning SEMI Automatic, or a Kodak INSTAmatic????????

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Regards,
LLL.don't have either LLL however I do have a Berreta 303,anschuta.22 & also a .22-250, & a sony handycam, but dont think any quite come up to the standard of what you have listed !!!
SJ

[Fenman46]

hummmmmmmmm

[The Late Lord Lucan]

don't have either LLL however I do have a Berreta 303,anschuta.22 & also a .22-250, & a sony handycam, but dont think any quite come up to the standard of what you have listed !!!

Oh I don't know about that......... .22-250, now that is certainly a useful and spiteful piece of kit! :wink:
Whats the Handycam for? Would a 'priest' not be better for the 'coup de grace'? :lol: :lol:

Sorry everyone.........veering off topic there.....