⚖️ Rules & Regulations · 6 min
Hunting law
Why this matters
Falconry hunting sits on top of ordinary small game law, and every obligation of a gun hunter applies to you.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- State the licenses required to hunt with a raptor
- Describe what happens when a raptor takes an out-of-season or illegal animal
- Identify which species may and may not be hunted
The licenses
Under 173.5(a), anyone hunting with a raptor must hold a valid falconry license and a valid small game hunting license, and must carry both while hunting. Under 173.5(b) you comply with every provision of the ECL and every regulation governing small game hunting, which includes the same hunting hours prescribed for the licensed small game gun hunter.
The duck stamp
A falconer hunting migratory waterfowl must have a Federal Duck Stamp, in addition to the falconry license and the small game license. The exam asks this as a negative and the answer is false: you are not exempt.
A wrong kill
Under 173.5(b)(1), if your raptor kills wildlife that is out of season, or the wrong species or sex, you leave the dead wildlife where it lies, except that the raptor may feed on it before you leave the site of the kill. You do not take it home, and you do not need to prevent the bird from eating.
What may be hunted
The legal game species, in season, under the small game rules. Among the birds, the ones that are not protected in New York, and so may be hunted, are the House (English) Sparrow, European Starling, feral pigeon and Monk Parakeet. Most passerines are protected from any hunting at all: blue jays, robins and field sparrows may not be hunted with a raptor.
Shooting preserves
A falconer may hunt domestic game birds on a shooting preserve licensed under ECL 11-1903, complying with the applicable small game and domestic game bird provisions.
Hybrids
173.5(e): all hybrid raptors must have at least two radio transmitters attached when free flown.
Where you may fly
Your falconry permit does not authorize you to capture or release raptors, or practise falconry, on public land where it is prohibited, or on private property without the landowner's or custodian's permission.
From the field
Your red-tail catches a hen pheasant on the last day of the season, in a field where the season closed at sunset an hour ago. What now? Leave it where it lies. Your bird may feed on it before you leave the site. Carrying it out makes an honest mistake into a possession violation.
This lesson is part of the NY Falconry Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.