22-557: Herpetotherinae Polyborinae Falconinae The falcons and caracaras are around 65 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order Falconiformes ). The family likely originated in South America during the Paleocene and is divided into three subfamilies: Herpetotherinae , which includes the laughing falcon and forest falcons ; Polyborinae , which includes
44-450: A complicated relationship with humans. In ancient Egypt they were deified in the form of Horus , the sky and sun god who was the ancestor of the pharaohs . Caracaras also formed part of the legends of the Aztecs . Falcons were important in the (formerly often royal) sport of falconry . They have also been persecuted for their predation on game and farm animals, and that persecution has led to
66-539: A guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1819. The family is composed of three main branches: the falconets and true falcons , the caracaras , and the forest falcons . Differences exist between authorities in how these are grouped into subfamilies. Also, the placement of the laughing falcon ( Herpetotheres ) and the spot-winged falconet ( Spiziapteryx ) varies. One common approach uses two subfamilies Polyborinae and Falconinae. The first contains
88-683: A total of 122 species. For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species . The males of many species in this family are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black. Some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The weaverbird colonies may be found close to bodies of water. Weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests. The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like
110-486: A true falcon (Falconinae) and replaces Polyborinae with Caracarinae and Micrasturinae . On the other hand, the Check-list of South American Birds classifies all caracaras as true falcons and puts the laughing falcon and forest falcons into the subfamily Herpetotherinae. Falconinae, in its traditional classification, contains the falcons, falconets, and pygmy falcons . Depending on the authority, Falconinae may also include
132-479: Is list of the subfamilies and genera of the Falconidae. Herpetotherinae Herpetotherinae is a subfamily of falconid birds of prey that includes eight species in two genera Herpetotheres (the laughing falcon) and Micrastur (forest falcons). Both genera are found in South America and the subfamily is basal to the other falconid subfamilies where they split off around 30.2 million years ago in
154-485: Is true of the genus Falco and some falconets, other species, particularly the caracaras, are more sedentary in their feeding. The forest falcons of the Neotropics are generalist forest hunters. Several species, particularly the true falcons, will stash food supplies in caches. They are solitary hunters and pairs guard territories, although they may form large flocks during migration . Some species are specialists, such as
176-483: Is usually composed of browns, whites, chestnut, black and grey, often with barring of patterning. There is little difference in the plumage of males and females, although a few species have some sexual dimorphism in boldness of plumage. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution across the world, absent only from the densest forests of central Africa, some remote oceanic islands, the high Arctic and Antarctica . Some species have exceptionally wide ranges, particularly
198-576: The Old World , most in Africa south of the Sahara, though a few live in tropical areas of Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range. The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the family is sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae Their common ancestor lived in
220-542: The Oligocene epoch. The two extant herpetotherine genera split around 20 million years ago in the Miocene epoch with the extinct genus Thegornis . This Falconiformes article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ploceidae See text. Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds , many of which are called weavers , weaverbirds , weaver finches , or bishops . These names come from
242-489: The laughing falcon , which specialises in snakes , and the red-throated caracara , which mainly feeds on the larvae of bees and wasps ; others are more generalist in their diet. The falcons and caracaras are generally solitary breeders, although around 10% of species are colonial , for example the red-footed falcon . They are monogamous , although some caracaras may also employ alloparenting strategies, where younger birds help adults (usually their parents) in raising
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#1732844359569264-473: The spot-winged falconet and the caracaras ; and Falconinae , the falcons and kestrels ( Falco ) and falconets ( Microhierax ). Falcons and caracaras are small to medium-sized birds of prey, ranging in size from the black-thighed falconet , which can weigh as little as 35 grams (1.2 oz), to the gyrfalcon , which can weigh as much as 1,735 grams (61.2 oz). They have strongly hooked bills, sharply curved talons and excellent eyesight. The plumage
286-554: The buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The sociable weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. The sparrow weavers live in family units that employ cooperative breeding. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward. Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially . The birds build their nests together for protection, often several to
308-511: The caracaras and/or the laughing falcon. The following cladogram is based on a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Falconidae by Jérôme Fuchs and collaborators that was published in 2015. The number of species is taken from the list of birds maintained by Frank Gill , Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). Fuchs and collaborators recommended that
330-523: The caracaras, forest falcons, and laughing falcon. All species in this group are native to the Americas . The composition of Falconidae is disputed, and Polyborninae is not featured in the American Ornithologists' Union checklists for North and South American birds that are produced by its Classification Committees (NACC and SACC). The Check-list of North American Birds considers the laughing falcon
352-528: The cosmopolitan peregrine falcon , which ranges from Greenland to Fiji and has the widest natural breeding distribution of any bird. Other species have more restricted distributions, particularly island endemics like the Mauritius kestrel . Most habitat types are occupied, from tundra to rainforest and deserts , although they are generally more birds of open country and even forest species tend to prefer broken forest and forest edges. Some species, mostly in
374-568: The extinction of at least one species, the Guadalupe caracara . Several insular species have declined dramatically, none more so than the Mauritius kestrel , which at one time numbered no more than four birds. Around five species of falcon are considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN , including the saker falcon . The family Falconidae was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in
396-795: The genus Daptrius should be expanded to include the genera Phalcoboenus and Milvago due to the shallow genetic divergence. This change has been adopted by the Clements Checklist but not by the IOC. Herpetotheres – laughing falcon Micrastur – 7 species (forest falcons) Polihierax – pygmy falcon Microhierax – 5 species (falconets) Neohierax – white-rumped falcon Falco – 39 species (falcons and kestrels) Spiziapteryx – spot-winged falconet Caracara – 2 species (caracaras) Ibycter – red-throated caracara Phalcoboenus – 4 species (caracaras) Daptrius – black caracara Milvago – 2 species (caracaras) Below
418-494: The genus Falco , are fully migratory, with some species summering in Eurasia and wintering entirely in Africa, other species may be partly migratory. The Amur falcon has one of the longest migrations, moving from East Asia to southern Africa. Falcons and caracaras are carnivores, feeding on birds, small mammals including bats, reptiles, insects and carrion. In popular imagination the falconids are fast flying predators, and while this
440-1009: The middle Miocene around 18 million years ago. A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study by Thilina de Silva and collaborators, as well as an expanded study by the same group published in 2019 have indicated that the genus Ploceus as currently defined is polyphyletic . A cladogram based on these results is shown below. Amblyospiza – thick-billed weaver Sporopipes – 2 species (weavers) Plocepasser – 4 species (sparrow-weavers) Philetairus – sociable weaver Pseudonigrita – 2 species (social weavers) Dinemellia – white-headed buffalo weaver Bubalornis – 2 species (buffalo weavers) Euplectes – 18 species (bishops and widowbirds) Ploceus – 5 species (Asian weavers) Quelea – 3 species (queleas) Pachyphantes – compact weaver Foudia – 8 species (fodies) Ploceus – 2 species (Sakalava weaver and Nelicourvi weaver) Ploceus + Malimbus + Anaplectes – 60 + 10 + 2 = 72 species The family includes 15 genera with
462-460: The nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifications, the Ploceidae are a clade that excludes some birds that have historically been placed in the family, such as some of the sparrows , but which includes the monotypic subfamily Amblyospizinae . The family is believed to have originated in the mid- Miocene . All birds of the Ploceidae are native to
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#1732844359569484-510: The next brood of chicks. Nests are generally not built (except by the caracaras), but are co opted from other birds, for example pygmy falcons nest in the nests of weavers , or on the ledges on cliffs. Around 2–4 eggs are laid, and mostly incubated by the female. Incubation times vary from species to species and are correlated with body size, lasting 28 days in smaller species and up to 35 days in larger species. Chicks fledge after 28–49 days, again varying with size. Falcons and caracaras have
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