Hawk tilting head

[Joerg Rockenberger]

I've posted this image before in Out-of-the-box (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12018) inquiring for the reason that hawks sometimes tilt their heads as shown. It was suggested that they might do this to help with triangulation. Well, thought this might be of interest to this forum and appreciate your feedback. Thanks, JR

[John Chardine]

Nice example of this John. I think owls do the same sort of thing so it must have something to do with the visual system of both groups; both groups have large eyes and ultra-acute vision.

Here is a less extreme example I photographed in a young (and very tame) Galapagos Hawk captured on Bartolome Island in September 2006. The image was captured with my old D70 and was quite noisy.

[Arthur Morris]

My understanding is that as good as their vision is they are poor judges of distance. If they bob their heads or move them side to side while hunting they are surely triangulating. If they hold this position I can only theorize that that are just being curious or that they are somehow trying to judge how far away you are.

If you hold an accipter on your wrist and move your arm up and down they will bob their heads. They are actually doing this to keep their eyes in the same position...

[Arthur Morris]

Now this guy is triangulating. The two images were created just 12/100 sec apart with the handheld 70-200mm f/4L IS and the EOS 40D and combined in Photoshop. Just as John's bird above, this is a juvenile Galapagos Hawk photographed at Gardner's Bay, Espanola.

[Robert Amoruso]

Interesting behavior.

[Rob Palmer]

I actually think this has nothing to do with triangulation. I have seen it in all kinds of raptors and only in raptors that are totally relaxed in their environment. I think it is just a curiosity behavior and they are just looking at something to get a different perspective. If they are hunting the head never goes upsidedown. They will bob their head if they want to attack.

[Roy Priest]

I actually think this has nothing to do with triangulation. I have seen it in all kinds of raptors and only in raptors that are totally relaxed in their environment. I think it is just a curiosity behavior and they are just looking at something to get a different perspective. If they are hunting the head never goes upsidedown. They will bob their head if they want to attack.

Rob, I agree with you completely. If you have a falcon perched in your yard and it sees something interesting, a dog, butterfly or even you, they will often turn their head upside down. In very young birds they will even jerk and put out their wings.

[Ed Grella]

Maybe they hear somthing that we can't. Dogs do it all the time with high pitch squeely noises.
Ed

[John Chardine]

Very good point Ed, maybe it is all about hearing and not vision.