SOLITARY AND SOCIAL HUNTING IN PALE CHANTING GOSHAWK (MELIERAX-CANORUS) FAMILIES - WHY USE BOTH STRATEGIES

I observed Pale Chanting Goshawks (Melierax canorus) using solitary an d social hunting strategies. Most goshawks hunted predominantly alone, but if an individual was unable to flush and catch a cornered rodent from a shrub, other family members joined in a social hunt. Goshawks p erched near or on the tops of shrubs and repeatedly struck at rodents until they were caught. Other family members did not pursue the goshaw k that caught prey, even if it did not make the initial hunt. During s ocial hunts, there was no evidence of a dominance hierarchy in familie s when they were not hunting. I found hunting success of individual go shawks to be low (11-12%) for both solitary and social hunts. Only lar ge rodents were caught during social hunts, whereas smaller vertebrate s (lizards and birds), and invertebrates, were caught during solitary hunts. It appeared that dominant breeders did not kleptoparasitize or dominate subordinate family members during social hunts to maximize th eir individual hunting success. Juveniles were significantly less succ essful than adults in capturing rodent prey, but may have increased th eir foraging efficiency and survival by participating in social hunts. Dominant Pale Chanting Goshawks that allowed offspring to partake in social hunts may, therefore, behave selfishly to increase their inclus ive fitness.