By: Fox, Dr. Nicholas
ISBN-13: 978-095767-913-9 [New Second Edition Hardcover]
ISBN-13: 978-088839-317-3 [First Edition Hardcover]
Binding: Trade Hardback 
Size: 8.5" X 11"
Pages: 554
Photos: 360
Illustrations: 206
Original Publication Date: 1995
New Edition Publication Date: 2022

Understanding the Bird of Prey is aimed at everyone working hands-on with raptors. Falconers, breeders, conservationists, racing enthusiasts and rehabilitators will all find it invaluable. Building on the original 1995 edition, this new volume is almost twice the size, with 360 new photos and 206 technical illustrations. It includes a new section on falconry - flying trained falcons at robotic prey - and a section on ethics for those dealing with thorny issues surrounding the conservation and management of raptors.

Each of the 11 chapters has been peer-reviewed by independent specialists and is supported by its own bibliography. Accompanying this book are ten 90-minute modular films on managing birds of prey, together with additional films from real-life conservation projects.

 Dr. Nick Fox, OBE has been a professional raptor biologist since 1975, running conservation programs in UK, New Zealand, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and elsewhere as Director of Falcon Research and Management for the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi.  A lifelong farming conservationist and falcon breeder, he has managed the Northumberland Crow Falcons for thirty years, hawking on horseback. Dr. Fox has published many scientific papers and organised the four largest International Festivals of Falconry. He wrote the initial submission to UNESCO resulting in Falconry being inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.

In recent years he has developed robotic prey for falcons and organised races at Vowley, the Home of British Falcon Racing. He received the OBE for services to Falconry and the Conservation of Birds of Prey in 2014.

‘This is one of the most comprehensive books ever written on birds of prey. Written by a man who has been at the top of his game for more than five decades and lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs, it is essential reading for falconers and raptor enthusiasts alike.’ -- Iolo Williams, Ornithologist

One of our best selling books on raptors!

UNDERSTANDING THE BIRD OF PREY is one the most comprehensive gathering of data on birds of prey ever assembled. The text is masterfully written in language that is easy to follow by Nick Fox, a leading professional raptor biologist, breeder and falconer. The text covers the biology of birds of prey, their capture management, breeding, training and rehabilitation. All sections have been critically reviewed by top international specialists for scientific accuracy. 

Nick Fox was born and raised a country boy. Educated in England, Scotland and New Zealand, he has been a professional raptor biologist since 1974, publishing widely on Australasian Harriers, New Zealand Falcons, Northern Goshawks and Mauritius Kestrels. A falconer all his life, he has regularly flown fifteen raptor species at quarry and bred nine of them, including a world first, the New Zealand falcon. He hacks and trains about twenty large falcons a year, flying them at crows from horses in the old classical way, a severe practical test of scientific theory. A founder, twenty years ago, of the Raptor Association of New Zealand, and more recently of the Middle East Falcon Research Group, Dr. Fox has long been concerned with pulling together raptor enthusiasts from all disciplines and persuasions. As a consultant to the British Hawk Board for many years, he is acutely aware of the problems faced by birds of prey and of the divergent human attitudes toward them. Dr. Fox is Director of Falcon Management and Research at the National Avian Research Center of its breeding facility in the UK, and for research programs in the UK, the Middle East, and Kazakhstan.

Caitlin Morrow from Amazon

Recommended for Raptor lovers. I've done my best to read quite a few books in the subject of raptors, both in the wild, in falconry, and in other captive situations. I like Nick Fox's book because it covers a broad range of subjects in easy-to-understand detail, is well-organized, and has plenty of attractive picture--which aren't essential but are, in my opinion, enjoyable. I recommend Understanding The Bird of Prey above any of the other hawk books available on Amazon for those particularly interested in falconry, and captive raptor management (including behavior).

JDM from Amazon

Quintessential work. Of the 18-20 or so falconry books I have read to date, this is by far the most comprehensive, informative and useful. From basic anatomy and physiology to training and flying/hunting birds of prey, it covers it all in wonderful detail. Dr Fox's many years of experience with so many different species and in so many different places and cultures lends him a unique perspective and incredible insight into the sport and the birds we use. If you wish to understand birds of prey and how they should be trained and handled for falconry, you really should own this book.