Chapter 31: This Mahaozi Is Also Not An Easy Target
When the food was ready, Yue Feng personally went to call over Xiao Tao's father Li Wentong and his family of four.
The Yue Family had prepared a large amount of food, divided into two portions. The men sat at one table, eating, drinking, and bragging, while the women and children sat at another, eating. The meal lasted from 11:50 AM until 1:30 PM before the 'battle' concluded.
Yue Lei had a leg injury, so Yue Feng drank on behalf of his father with the guests.
They still had things to do in the afternoon, so no one drank too much, just about three liang of high-proof baijiu each as a simple gesture.
Yue Lei also really liked Little Flower, the Pinecone brought back by his son. Yue Feng decisively handed her over to his father to handle. Everyone was still thinking about going up the mountain to check the nets. After eating their fill and greeting each other, they took the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) and headed back up the mountain.
The first stop was still the small forest by the River. In less than three hours after noon, another Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) hit the net.
An old Baixiong (an adult female Eurasian Sparrowhawk), a Zi Yao with a heart-shaped chest pattern, and the net that had been quiet all morning still hadn't caught anything.
The chest pattern of the old Baixiong was completely gray; she was clearly not young. This kind of old bird was untamable and had no training value, so they released her on the spot.
It's worth mentioning that the second Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) caught in the net wasn't of too poor quality either.
This Zi Yao was about half a size smaller than Yue Feng's Northern Goshawk. Held in the hand, she weighed about five and a half liang.
The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) wasn't large, but she looked very spirited. Her build was slender, her wings were very thin, and even without practical hunting, you could tell from her physique alone that she was a fast hunter.
Her weight was standard. The size of her talons was slightly smaller than the Northern Goshawk's, but they were definitely sufficient for catching prey weighing around half a jin to one jin, like Flying Dragon and Sand Grouse.
'We were just talking about it this morning, and here she is! A Zi Yao. Xiao Tao, give me a hand, let's get her fitted first!'
Yue Feng called out, took out the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) two-piece set that Yue Lei had made at home yesterday from his satchel.
After putting on the jesses, Yue Feng took out the cotton jacket for restraining the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) from his pocket. He tucked her wings into the jacket, then wrapped the lower corner around and tightened it, completely restraining the little Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female).
'Don't put this little Zi Yao in the satchel. The three of you, take turns carrying her this afternoon! Consider it getting her used to faces in advance! Xiao Tao, you go first!' Yue Feng directly handed the restrained Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) to Xiao Tao.
Previously, the Da Qing Yao was a bit too large to hold comfortably in the hand, but this Zi Yao was just the right size to hold.
The Hawk Hunting Team had now caught their second proper working Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female).
After the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) was taken care of, Yue Feng re-hung the net, checked the lure to make sure it wasn't dehydrated, and then led everyone back up the mountain.
They still climbed the gentle slope from Erjiagou to the ridge, but this time Yue Feng didn't linger on this ridge. He took the three brothers across another ridge with a slightly steeper slope and arrived at the second hunting ground.
For the next three hours, everyone followed Yue Feng and began the practical hunting training mode. The Da Qing Yao, acting as the training Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), was held and released by the three brothers in turns, attacking distant prey repeatedly.
Actually, releasing the little Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) wasn't very difficult after getting familiar with the whole process and details. As practical training experience accumulated, the three brothers' technique for releasing the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) gradually became more skilled.
The afternoon's hunting with the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) was also fruitful. While letting the trainees practice, Yue Feng also caught six Flying Dragon, plus three Sand Grouse.
Unknowingly, it was already evening. Before the sun set, wild Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) also had a hunting window. The probability of catching Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) was actually higher in the early morning and late evening than at noon.
Since they were coming down the mountain, the first net Yue Feng checked was the one near the southern edge of the forest, which hadn't caught anything all day.
This time, even from dozens of meters away, Yue Feng noticed that the live knot of the net had been triggered, and he immediately quickened his pace and rushed over.
A yellowish-brown Mahaozi, due to its continuous struggle after hitting the net, was already tangled up like a twist by the net lines. The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) was curled up on the ground, its beak wide open in fright, and its tongue sticking out.
Yue Feng knew this was due to exhaustion and dehydration caused by the intense struggle in the net, so he decisively took out his water bottle from his satchel and gave the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) some water. Only then did he slowly remove all the net from the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)'s body.
Compared to the Zi Yao caught at noon, this Mahaozi had no notable characteristics in terms of quality.
Its whole body's feathers were yellowish-brown, the pattern on its chest was a bit messy, its wings weren't particularly thin, and the muscles on its chest weren't as thick as the Da Qing Yao's or the Zi Yao's.
Seeing that I've been introducing the different qualities of Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), some people might have a question: can Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) with different feather colors and different physical details truly determine their practical hunting ability?
The responsible answer is, the accuracy rate is over 85%.
How to explain the principle behind this?
Actually, it's very simple. Looking at the feather color system of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) represents different breeding grounds. In different breeding grounds, there might be differences in subspecies, which directly affects their performance in practical hunting.
For example, the Northern Goshawk that breed locally here in the Northeast, regardless of sex, most juveniles have a full coat of bright red Maozi. Female individuals generally weigh around two jin to two jin and two or three liang.
Whereas the Northern Goshawk that breed further north in the Siberian region have light-colored feathers with a grassy white base. Female individuals there start at two and a half jin or more in weight, and occasionally large ones can even exceed three jin.
To be more detailed, different breeding grounds mean differences in the raptors' wild hunting environments. Some Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) chicks grow up eating Sparrow, mice, and Toad, while others grow up eating Eurasian Turtle Dove, Sand Grouse, and Flying Dragon. When they leave the nest and learn to hunt with their parents, the prey they encounter also differs.
Yue Feng felt that this yellowish-brown Mahaozi was likely a native breeding in the local pine forest. She didn't have any obvious advantages, but since there was no room for choice at the moment, he wasn't in a hurry to release her. He would restrain her and keep her for now.
What he originally thought was just an ordinary bird soon took a turn.
As Yue Feng was preparing to put the little jacket on the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), a few feathers with different colored patterns on the Mahaozi's abdomen made Yue Feng's eyes light up.
With this new discovery, Yue Feng examined the Mahaozi's abdominal feathers, and then checked the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)'s tail feathers.
'Not bad, not bad. I originally thought she was just an ordinary Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), but unexpectedly, this one is also not an easy target,' Yue Feng muttered to himself excitedly.
'Feng Ge, what's up? How can you tell this Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) isn't an easy target?' Xiao Wu was so overwhelmed by curiosity that he couldn't help but ask.
'Yeah, Feng Ge, just now your expression seemed a bit disdainful. Why did you suddenly change your evaluation?' Xiao Tao also came over to ask.
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