Jemima Parry-Jones: Fill & Download for Free

Eagles are up at the top of the intelligence end for birds of prey, owls are down at the low end (“Owls are as thick as two short planks.” Jemima Parry Jones ICBP. What’s actually smarter than even eagles are vultures. Vultures are even known to play. When I visited Parry-Jones at the ICBP I volunteered to clean cages (since I had no intention of being the sort of visitor that swans around and expects to be entertained, I intended to be useful). The owls stared at me and were hard to move. The hawks were suspicious. The eagles came down to bathe in the spray from the water hose.But the vultures—all of them—were interested in what I was doing, and every one of them finally decided to play tug-of-war with me and the broom. It was true play-behavior too; it was not at all aggressive, and if I stopped pulling, they’d come sit on the brush and tap at it, then look up at me, and would repeat this until I played again or they got bored.

In the US, there is only one answer.And it doesn’t matter who else you ask, the answer is still going to beIf you are outside the US, it might be possible, depending on the laws of your country. If you intend to become a falconer (and not have the bird as a “pet”), it might be possible.Birds of prey make terrible “pets.”Read this. Read it CAREFULLY.Mercedes R. Lackey's answer to Can one keep a falcon as a pet?Now multiply the size of the mews by ten—yes, the mews will be bigger than your house. Multiply the amount of food by two. Multiply the amount of poo to clean up by five. Multiply the amount of time and training you will have to have by ten—General Falconers cannot fly nor handle eagles. Only Master Falconers can fly eagles. It takes about 2 years to become a General Falconer. It takes another four to eight years to become a Master.And even then, it will not be a “pet.” It will not like being touched. It will not “hang out with you.” It frankly will not give a damn about you. With very rare exceptions, the only thing you get from any bird of prey is “tolerance.” Honestly you’d be better off with a life-sized statue of an eagle, or get someone to make you an eagle animatronic robot. You’ll get more interaction from a robot.I actually know this. We were very good friends with one of the eagle handlers at the Sutton Avian Research Center, as well as Doris Mager of S.O.A.R., and we were privileged to assist both of them. I am also friends with Jemima Parry-Jones of the International Centre for Birds of Prey ( ICBP Homepage - ICBP ), and I have assisted with caring for many of her hundreds of birds. And I can honestly say there is a hundred times more personality in a cockatiel than there is in a Bald Eagle.

A baby.Adult owls generally only tolerate you. They are not social birds, and there is very little room in that unshelled-almond-sized brain for social behavior. If you get anything like social behavior out of one, it will be because it is hand-raised and regards you as its parent or mate.One of our local falconers had a Great Horned Owl; it was hand-raised and accepted her as its mate. It reliably attacked everyone else, and I don’t mean “hooted angrily,” I mean flew at them and tried to sink its talons into them. This included her husband, also a falconer, who was the one that did most of the feeding! He could be coming to the mews with dinner in hand and this owl still went for him. And not the hand holding the food. His head.Now, two of your commenters have spoken about Eurasian Eagle Owls as being “friendly,” and I will say that Jemima Parry-Jones, owner and CEO of the International Centre for Birds of Prey in the UK Homepage layout style 2 - ICBP does have a hand-raised Eagle Owl who is astonishingly tame, tame enough she allows classes of blind children to put their hands all over him. So it is possible that Eurasian Eagle Owls can exhibit more tolerance than any other owl species I know of. This does not mean they make good “pets” or that they are “friendly.”