working with dinosaurs

I don’t know what kind of birds there are where you live, but I can say that the red tail is a very good choice for the first-year apprentice! It’s not just the law, it’s logical. Red tails are sturdy and forgiving birds. They can tolerate a bit too much or too little food, they are still usually pretty responsive at a high weight, and they are less likely to hurt you when they are crabby (although they will, just not as readily as other birds).

Kestrels are the other bird that is lawful for an apprentice to possess in the US. It’s quite a bit more particular that the red tail in terms of feeding, but it is more ‘compact’ if you have a small living space or less ideal hunting grounds, and it’s a good starter if you’re more interested in falcons anyway.

Both of those birds are allowed for apprentices partly because they are plentiful here in the US, so there’s little threat to conservation by giving them to a beginner, but they are also both pretty easy birds (relatively!!). I can’t say I know much about non-US birds, but I’ve heard the common buzzard in Europe is similar to a red tail.

Generally Harris Hawks are great starter birds and because of this they’re easy to get a hold of (which is good for falconers but does obviously have its problems) European Kestrels are bigger than American Kestrels and so are a little bit ‘easier’ to care for if you’re after a smaller bird.