I’m not sure they could take off while swallowing. I didn’t really see much info on it. They are surely more vulnerable on the ground, and their food is roughly 15-20% of their body weight, so being caught mid-swallow sounds like a very compromising situation for them. I saw some mention of sharp shinned hawks being able to swallow while flying, but given raptors’ esophagus opening is at the back of the tongue, I’m not sure how that would work out to get enough air to keep flying.
I’m not sure they could take off while swallowing. I didn’t really see much info on it. They are surely more vulnerable on the ground, and their food is roughly 15-20% of their body weight, so being caught mid-swallow sounds like a very compromising situation for them. I saw some mention of sharp shinned hawks being able to swallow while flying, but given raptors’ esophagus opening is at the back of the tongue, I’m not sure how that would work out to get enough air to keep flying.