Little birds are so cute. Then you observe them going after their prey, imagine if they were larger, and then remember their ancestry. Yeah, they're cute.
this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2025
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Their prey don't agree with you
Square-cube law means that as they get bigger they need to hunt less (lower rate of heat loss per kg of birb) and get less powerful compared to their size
I doubt such a law is a linear function, and probably plateaus at some point. I wouldn't consider large birds even outside raptors as weak because they are big, and dinosaurs? Maybe clarify what you mean as "less powerful".
Even outside the bird family, what about huge animals like orca, elephants, rhinos?
I meant weaker per kg of body weight, not in absolute terms
Kestrels are so feisty! Kestrel fighting a Barn Owl
My favorite tiny little murder birb!
There's at least one falconer on YouTube who gets hired to reduce starling populations (which is sad because I love the laser birds too but they're invasive) and he literally drive-bys them by yeeting a kestrel out the window of the moving car. It's incredible to watch.
On tour at a raptor rescue center.
Tour goes into their small raptor "play" enclosure, there more to keep them safe from the wild raptors in the area.
They bring in this tiny and adorable kite, it took some offered bits of food(bits of raw meat provided by the center) from us.
Wild Junco(that we previously had not noticed) in the enclosure did not agree about the cuteness of the kite. (It got out unharmed.)
Kestrels(falconiformes) are more closely related to parrots so kinda makes sense.
Kestrels and falcons are each others closest relatives.
Both are more closely related to parrots than to kites hawks and eagles. In fact falcons are more closely related to tits than to hawks. But tits are more closely related to parrots than to falcons. Fuck, eagles and hawks are more closely related to woodpeckers than to falcons.
Bird cladistics is wild!
Where can I subscribe for more facts about tits and peckers?
I've learned today I know nothing about avian evolution. I'm now classified as "amateur bird watcher", only slightly higher than "I think that's a pigeon"
In the western hemisphere there is also the Bat Falcon (they are known to hunt hummingbirds too). In Africa there is the Pygmy Falcon.
And the smallest falcon in the world is in Malaysia: Black-thighed Falconet
typically measuring between 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in) long, with a 27–32 centimetres (11–13 in) wingspan, which is a size comparable to a typical sparrow
This falconet mainly feeds on insects, including moths, butterflies, dragonflies, alate termites and cicadas, occasional small birds, and lizards. Feeding behavior appears to often be social, with feeding parties up to ten recorded.