FALCON VERSUS GROUSE - FLIGHT ADAPTATIONS OF A PREDATOR AND ITS PREY

Several falcons were trained to fly along a 500 m course to a lure. Th e air speeds of the more consistent performers averaged about 1.5 time s their calculated minimum power speeds, and occasionally reached 2.1 times the minimum power speed. Wing beat frequencies of all the falcon s were above those estimated from earlier field observations, and the same was true of wild Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, a regular falconer's quarry in the study area. Measurements of grouse killed by falcons showed that their wings were short, with broad slotted tips, whereas the falcons' wings were longer in relation to their body mass, and tapered. The short wings of grouse result in fast flight, high po wer requirements, and reduced capacity for aerobic flight. Calculation s indicated that the grouse should fly faster than the falcons, and ha d the large amount of flight muscle needed to do so, but that the falc ons would be capable of prolonged aerobic flight, whereas the grouse p robably would not. We surmise that Sage Grouse cannot fly continuously without incurring an oxygen debt, and are therefore not long-distance migrants. although this limitation is partly due to their large size, and would not apply to smaller galliform birds such as ptarmigan Lago pus spp. The wing action seen in video recordings of the falcons was n ot consistent with the maintenance of constant circulation. We call it ''chase mode'' because it appears to be associated with a high level of muscular exertion, without special regard to fuel economy. It shows features in common with the ''bounding'' flight of passerines.