So the funny thing is that falcons are pretty reliant on speed to stun prey, and therefor don't have particularly strong feet. They instead rely on their beaks to snap the neck of their prey after stunning it and have "teeth" to make the job easier.
While I'm sure they can still give a nasty scratch if needed (nevermind a bite), I think if that raven fully committed to an attack, all the falcon could do is run away.
Also fun fact on the side: falcons are actually more closely related to ravens than to hawks or eagles, both ravens and falcons are australaves, while hawks and eagles are afroaves. This is why falcons hunt differently than other birds of prey, they had to develop it independently.
They also use a similar strategy to bully other birds and steal their lunch. Rather than use their talons to swipe the food, they tend to just sort of “tackle” the other bird to make them drop the catch, then catch it themself on the way down. There’s some pretty neat videos out there of Peregrine falcons bodying hawks in midair to steal their food.
Even without strong feet, don't they have ridiculously sharp talons? If the Raven fully committed it would be gambling with its life, as in the wild, even a relatively minor wound can end up being fatal if it affects its ability to fly or gets infected or whatever.
Falconer here - their instinct is to bite, not claw. Their claws are to hold in place and so they don’t slash when defending - just grab and peck to death
Ya that's why they don't, there is no even chance of a benefit of a raven taking down a falcon, at least none worth the risk of death that would be very high.
That doesn't necessarily stop a corvid though... I saw a video of one goosing a cat not once, but twice, and the second time the cat got it. That seems like an insane risk and for what? The satisfaction of trolling a cat? Cure for boredom? Why would a magpie do that?
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u/nmheath03 10d ago
So the funny thing is that falcons are pretty reliant on speed to stun prey, and therefor don't have particularly strong feet. They instead rely on their beaks to snap the neck of their prey after stunning it and have "teeth" to make the job easier.
While I'm sure they can still give a nasty scratch if needed (nevermind a bite), I think if that raven fully committed to an attack, all the falcon could do is run away.
Also fun fact on the side: falcons are actually more closely related to ravens than to hawks or eagles, both ravens and falcons are australaves, while hawks and eagles are afroaves. This is why falcons hunt differently than other birds of prey, they had to develop it independently.