66-510: The lesser kestrel ( Falco naumanni ) is a small falcon . This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia . It is a summer migrant , wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European range. The genus name derives from Late Latin falx , falcis ,
132-609: A lammergeier might have killed Aeschylus by accident. Many stories of Brazilian indigenous peoples speak about children mauled by Uiruuetê, the Harpy Eagle in Tupi language . Various large raptors like golden eagles are reported attacking human beings, but its unclear if they intend to eat them or if they have ever been successful in killing one. Some fossil evidence indicates large birds of prey occasionally preyed on prehistoric hominids. The Taung Child , an early human found in Africa,
198-452: A sickle , referencing the claws of the bird, and the species name commemorates the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Naumann . It is a small bird of prey , 27–33 cm (11–13 in) in length with a 63–72 cm (25–28 in) wingspan. It looks very much like the larger common kestrel but has proportionally shorter wings and tail. It shares a brown back and barred grey underparts with
264-407: A closely related one. In any case, the genus name Sushkinia is invalid for this animal because it had already been allocated to a prehistoric dragonfly relative. In 2015 the bird genus was renamed Psushkinia . The supposed "Falco" pisanus was actually a pigeon of the genus Columba , possibly the same as Columba omnisanctorum , which, in that case, would adopt the older species name of
330-454: A distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing off flesh. Although predatory birds primarily hunt live prey, many species (such as fish eagles , vultures and condors ) also scavenge and eat carrion . Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, ornithologists typically use
396-467: A great deal of data is required. Dimorphisms can also be the product of intrasexual selection between males and females. It appears that both sexes of the species play a role in the sexual dimorphism within raptors; females tend to compete with other females to find good places to nest and attract males, and males competing with other males for adequate hunting ground so they appear as the most healthy mate. It has also been proposed that sexual dimorphism
462-465: A larger image to be projected onto the retina. The visual acuity of some large raptors such as eagles and Old World vultures are the highest known among vertebrates; the wedge-tailed eagle has twice the visual acuity of a typical human and six times that of the common ostrich , the vertebrate with the largest eyes. There are two regions in the retina, called the deep and shallow fovea, that are specialized for acute vision. These regions contain
528-408: A lengthwise pattern of blotches, lines, or arrowhead marks. While these three or four groups, loosely circumscribed, are an informal arrangement, they probably contain several distinct clades in their entirety. A study of mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data of some kestrels identified a clade containing the common kestrel and related " malar -striped" species, to the exclusion of such taxa as
594-471: A male falcon is tercel ( British spelling ) or tiercel ( American spelling ), from the Latin tertius ( third ) because of the belief that only one in three eggs hatched a male bird. Some sources give the etymology as deriving from the fact that a male falcon is about one-third smaller than a female ( Old French : tiercelet ). A falcon chick, especially one reared for falconry , still in its downy stage,
660-582: Is a deprecated superorder within Raptores, formerly composed of the orders Falconiformes and Strigiformes. The clade was invalidated after 2012. Falconiformes is now placed in Eufalconimorphae , while Strigiformes is placed in Afroaves . The order Accipitriformes is believed to have originated 44 million years ago when it split from the common ancestor of the secretarybird ( Sagittarius serpentarius ) and
726-729: Is a simplified phylogeny of Telluraves which is the clade where the birds of prey belong to along with passerines and several near-passerine lineages. The orders in bold text are birds of prey orders; this is to show the paraphyly of the group as well as their relationships to other birds. Accipitriformes (hawks, vultures, and relatives) [REDACTED] Strigiformes (owls) [REDACTED] Coraciimorphae (woodpeckers, rollers, hornbills, etc.) [REDACTED] Cariamiformes (seriemas) [REDACTED] Falconiformes (falcons) [REDACTED] Psittacopasserae (parrots and songbirds) [REDACTED] A recent phylogenomic study from Wu et al. (2024) has found an alternative phylogeny for
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#1732884366630792-492: Is an order of telluravian birds consisting of the living seriemas and extinct terror birds . Jarvis et al. 2014 suggested including them in the category of birds of prey, and McClure et al. 2019 considered seriemas to be birds of prey. The Peregrine Fund also considers seriemas to be birds of prey. Like most birds of prey, seriemas and terror birds prey on vertebrates . However, seriemas were not traditionally considered birds of prey. There were traditionally classified in
858-538: Is believed to have been killed by an eagle-like bird similar to the crowned eagle . The Haast's eagle may have preyed on early humans in New Zealand , and this conclusion would be consistent with Maori folklore . Leptoptilos robustus might have preyed on both Homo floresiensis and anatomically modern humans, and the Malagasy crowned eagle , teratorns , Woodward's eagle and Caracara major are similar in size to
924-668: Is built, which is typical for falcons. On their wintering grounds in West Africa, lesser kestrels favor a "latitude belt" through Senegal where locusts and grasshoppers are plentiful. Surveys of lesser kestrels wintering in January 2007 by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux revealed them roosting communally. A roost in Senegal discovered during one of the surveys held 28,600 birds, together with 16,000 scissor-tailed kites Chelictinia riocourii . It
990-445: Is commonly believed that the dimorphisms found in raptors occur due to sexual selection or environmental factors. In general, hypotheses in favor of ecological factors being the cause for sexual dimorphism in raptors are rejected. This is because the ecological model is less parsimonious , meaning that its explanation is more complex than that of the sexual selection model. Additionally, ecological models are much harder to test because
1056-459: Is derived from the Latin word rapio , meaning "to seize or take by force". The common names for various birds of prey are based on structure, but many of the traditional names do not reflect the evolutionary relationships between the groups. Many of these English language group names originally referred to particular species encountered in Britain . As English-speaking people travelled further,
1122-452: Is known as an eyas (sometimes spelled eyass ). The word arose by mistaken division of Old French un niais , from Latin presumed nidiscus (nestling) from nidus ( nest ). The technique of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as falconry . Compared to other birds of prey, the fossil record of the falcons is not well distributed in time. For years, the oldest fossils tentatively assigned to this genus were from
1188-411: Is merely the product of disruptive selection , and is merely a stepping stone in the process of speciation, especially if the traits that define gender are independent across a species. Sexual dimorphism can be viewed as something that can accelerate the rate of speciation. In non-predatory birds, males are typically larger than females. However, in birds of prey, the opposite is the case. For instance,
1254-426: Is probably plesiomorphic . These large Falco species feed on mid-sized birds and terrestrial vertebrates. Very similar to these, and sometimes included therein, are the four or so species of hierofalcon (literally, "hawk-falcons"). They represent taxa with, usually, more phaeomelanins , which impart reddish or brown colors, and generally more strongly patterned plumage reminiscent of hawks . Their undersides have
1320-512: Is the case with many birds of prey, falcons have exceptional powers of vision ; the visual acuity of one species has been measured at 2.6 times that of human eyes . They are incredibly fast fliers, with the Peregrine falcons having been recorded diving at speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph), making them the fastest-moving creatures on Earth; the fastest recorded dive attained a vertical speed of 390 km/h (240 mph). The genus Falco
1386-421: Is usual in falcons; those of this species are a peculiar whitish-horn color. This, however, is only conspicuous when birds are seen at very close range, e.g. in captivity. Despite its outward similarity, this species appears not to be closely related to the common kestrel. In fact, mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis places it at a basal position with regards to the other "true" kestrels (i.e., excluding
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#17328843666301452-685: Is widespread and plentiful on a global scale, and the IUCN have classed it as Least Concern. Apart from possible habitat destruction , it appears that indiscriminate use of pesticides has a strong effect on this species due to its insectivorous habits. Falcon 38; see text . Falcons ( / ˈ f ɒ l k ən , ˈ f ɔː l -, ˈ f æ l -/ ) are birds of prey in the genus Falco , which includes about 40 species . Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies , and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels . Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of
1518-514: The American kestrel and probably the grey African kestrels as well). Its divergence is tentatively placed to around the Miocene - Pliocene boundary ( Messinian to Zanclean , or about 7–3.5 mya ). The morphological similarity with the common kestrel is most puzzling, but still it appears to betray the present species' actual relationships: the lack of a malar stripe seems ancestral for kestrels, and
1584-509: The Gelasian , roughly 2.0–2.5 million years ago (Mya), and are seemingly of tropical East African origin. The entire "true kestrel" group—excluding the American species—is probably a distinct and quite young clade , as also suggested by their numerous apomorphies . Other studies have confirmed that the hierofalcon are a monophyletic group–and that hybridization is quite frequent at least in
1650-497: The kestrel is a type of falcon in which males are the primary providers, and the females are responsible for nurturing the young. In this species, the smaller the kestrels are, the less food is needed and thus, they can survive in environments that are harsher. This is particularly true in the male kestrels. It has become more energetically favorable for male kestrels to remain smaller than their female counterparts because smaller males have an agility advantage when it comes to defending
1716-463: The kestrels (probably excepting the American kestrel ); usually small and stocky falcons of mainly brown upperside colour and sometimes sexually dimorphic; three African species that are generally gray in colour stand apart from the typical members of this group. The fox and greater kestrels can be told apart at first glance by their tail colours, but not by much else; they might be very close relatives and are probably much closer to each other than
1782-641: The merlin ( Falco columbarius ). The taxonomy of Carl Linnaeus grouped birds (class Aves) into orders, genera, and species, with no formal ranks between genus and order. He placed all birds of prey into a single order, Accipitres , subdividing this into four genera: Vultur (vultures), Falco (eagles, hawks, falcons, etc.), Strix (owls), and Lanius (shrikes). This approach was followed by subsequent authors such as Gmelin , Latham and Turton . Louis Pierre Vieillot used additional ranks: order, tribe, family, genus, species. Birds of prey (order Accipitres) were divided into diurnal and nocturnal tribes;
1848-646: The "falcon". The Eocene fossil "Falco" falconellus (or "F." falconella ) from Wyoming is a bird of uncertain affiliations, maybe a falconid, maybe not; it certainly does not belong in this genus. "Falco" readei is now considered a paleosubspecies of the yellow-headed caracara ( Milvago chimachima ). Birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds , also known as raptors , are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals , reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators have keen eyesight for detecting prey from
1914-621: The American Falco species of today belong to the peregrine group, or are apparently more basal species, the initially most successful evolutionary radiation seemingly was a Holarctic one that originated possibly around central Eurasia or in (northern) Africa. One or several lineages were present in North America by the Early Pliocene at latest. The origin of today's major Falco groups—the "typical" hobbies and kestrels, for example, or
1980-471: The Haast's eagle, implying that they similarly could pose a threat to a human being. Birds of prey have incredible vision and rely heavily on it for a number of tasks. They utilize their high visual acuity to obtain food, navigate their surroundings, distinguish and flee from predators, mating, nest construction, and much more. They accomplish these tasks with a large eye in relation to their skull, which allows for
2046-649: The Late Miocene , less than 10 million years ago. This coincides with a period in which many modern genera of birds became recognizable in the fossil record. As of 2021, the oldest falconid fossil is estimated to be 55 million years old. Given the distribution of fossil and living Falco taxa , falcons are probably of North American, African, or possibly Middle Eastern or European origin. Falcons are not closely related to other birds of prey, and their nearest relatives are parrots and songbirds . Falcons are roughly divisible into three or four groups. The first contains
Lesser kestrel - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-489: The accipitrid species. The phylogeny of Accipitriformes is complex and difficult to unravel. Widespread paraphylies were observed in many phylogenetic studies. More recent and detailed studies show similar results. However, according to the findings of a 2014 study, the sister relationship between larger clades of Accipitriformes was well supported (e.g. relationship of Harpagus kites to buzzards and sea eagles and these latter two with Accipiter hawks are sister taxa of
2178-471: The aerial skills required to be effective hunters like the adults. The falcons are the largest genus in the Falconinae subfamily of Falconidae , which also includes two other subfamilies comprising caracaras and a few other species of "falcons". All these birds kill prey with their beaks , using a tomial "tooth" on the side of their beaks — unlike the hawks , eagles and other larger birds of prey from
2244-691: The bills of birds of prey shown by hunters. In Britain, kites and buzzards were seen as destroyers of game and killed, for instance in 1684–5 alone as many as 100 kites were killed. Rewards for their killing were also in force in the Netherlands from 1756. From 1705 to 1800, it has been estimated that 624087 birds of prey were killed in a part of Germany that included Hannover, Luneburg, Lauenburg and Bremen with 14125 claws deposited just in 1796–97. Many species also develop lead poisoning after accidental consumption of lead shot when feeding on animals that had been shot by hunters. Lead pellets from direct shooting that
2310-522: The biogeographic realms of the Southern Hemisphere. The appearance of migratory behaviour occurred in the tropics parallel with the range expansion of migratory species to temperate habitats. Similar results of southern origin in other taxonomic groups can be found in the literature. Distribution and biogeographic history highly determine the origin of migration in birds of prey. Based on some comparative analyses, diet breadth also has an effect on
2376-581: The birds have escaped from also cause reduced fitness and premature deaths. Some evidence supports the contention that the African crowned eagle occasionally views human children as prey, with a witness account of one attack (in which the victim, a seven-year-old boy, survived and the eagle was killed), and the discovery of part of a human child skull in a nest. This would make it the only living bird known to prey on humans, although other birds such as ostriches and cassowaries have killed humans in self-defense and
2442-516: The clade containing Aquilinae and Harpiinae). The diurnal birds of prey are formally classified into six families of two different orders (Accipitriformes and Falconiformes). These families were traditionally grouped together in a single order Falconiformes but are now split into two orders, the Falconiformes and Accipitriformes . The Cathartidae are sometimes placed in a separate order Cathartiformes . Formerly, they were sometimes placed in
2508-439: The evolution of migratory behaviour in this group, but its relevance needs further investigation. The evolution of migration in animals seems to be a complex and difficult topic with many unanswered questions. A recent study discovered new connections between migration and the ecology, life history of raptors. A brief overview from abstract of the published paper shows that "clutch size and hunting strategies have been proved to be
2574-462: The existing literature combining anatomical, genetic, and behavioural studies showed that, in general, raptors have functional olfactory systems that they are likely to use in a range of different contexts. Birds of prey have been historically persecuted both directly and indirectly. In the Danish Faroe Islands , there were rewards Naebbetold (by royal decree from 1741) given in return for
2640-493: The familiar names were applied to new birds with similar characteristics. Names that have generalised this way include: kite ( Milvus milvus ), sparrowhawk or sparhawk ( Accipiter nisus ), goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ), kestrel ( Falco tinninculus ), hobby ( Falco subbuteo ), harrier (simplified from "hen-harrier", Circus cyaneus ), buzzard ( Buteo buteo ). Some names have not generalised, and refer to single species (or groups of closely related (sub)species), such as
2706-435: The greater kestrel (which lacks a malar stripe), the lesser kestrel (which is very similar to the common, but also has no malar stripe), and the American kestrel, which has a malar stripe, but its colour pattern – apart from the brownish back – and also the black feathers behind the ear, which never occur in the true kestrels, are more reminiscent of some hobbies. The malar-striped kestrels apparently split from their relatives in
Lesser kestrel - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-439: The grey wing colour unites the lesser kestrel with most other Falco species, but not the other true kestrels. The lesser kestrel is, as the name implies, a smaller and more delicate bird than the common kestrel, and it is entirely sympatric in its breeding range with it; they compete to a limited extent. Thus, the possibility that there is some form of adaptive advantage to the similar coloration deserves study. Considering that
2838-400: The highest density of photoreceptors, and provide the highest points of visual acuity. The deep fovea points forward at an approximate 45° angle, while the shallow fovea points approximately 15° to the right or left of the head axis. Several raptor species repeatedly cock their heads into three distinct positions while observing an object. First, is straight ahead with their head pointed towards
2904-400: The hobbies and, if the hierofalcons are excluded (see below), this group typically contains species with horizontal barring on their undersides. As opposed to the other groups, where tail colour varies much in general but little according to evolutionary relatedness, the tails of the large falcons are quite uniformly dark grey with inconspicuous black banding and small, white tips, though this
2970-413: The larger falcon species. Initial studies of mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data suggested that the hierofalcon are basal among living falcons. The discovery of a NUMT proved this earlier theory erroneous. In reality, the hierofalcon are a rather young group, originating at the same time as the start of the main kestrel radiation, about 2 Mya. Very little fossil history exists for this lineage. However,
3036-453: The larger species. The male has a grey head and tail like male common kestrels, but lacks the dark spotting on the back, the black malar stripe, and has grey patches in the wings. The female and young birds are slightly paler than their relative, but are so similar that call and structure are better guides than plumage. The call is a diagnostic harsh chay-chay-chay , unlike the common kestrel's kee-kee-kee . Neither sex has dark talons as
3102-446: The lesser and common kestrels. Kestrels feed chiefly on terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of appropriate size, such as rodents , reptiles , or insects . The second group contains slightly larger (on average) species, the hobbies and relatives. These birds are characterized by considerable amounts of dark slate-gray in their plumage; their malar areas are nearly always black. They feed mainly on smaller birds. Third are
3168-424: The lesser kestrel would in fact have an advantage if some would-be predators confused it with the larger species and consequently avoided it, it might be a case of Müllerian mimicry . The lesser kestrel eats insects , but also small birds, reptiles and rodents (especially mice), which are often taken on the ground. It nests colonially on buildings, cliffs, or in tree holes, laying up to 3–6 eggs. No nest structure
3234-583: The most important variables in shaping distribution areas, and also the geographic dissimilarities may mask important relationships between life history traits and migratory behaviours. The West Palearctic-Afrotropical and the North-South American migratory systems are fundamentally different from the East Palearctic-Indomalayan system, owing to the presence versus absence of ecological barriers." Maximum entropy modelling can help in answering
3300-821: The narrower definition followed in this page, excluding many piscivorous predators such as storks , cranes , herons , gulls , skuas , penguins , and kingfishers , as well as many primarily insectivorous birds such as passerines (e.g. shrikes ), nightjars , frogmouths , songbirds such as crows and ravens , alongside opportunistic predators from predominantly frugivorous or herbivorous ratites such as cassowaries and rheas . Some extinct predatory telluravian birds had talons similar to those of modern birds of prey, including mousebird relatives ( Sandcoleidae ), and Messelasturidae indicating possible common descent . Some Enantiornithes also had such talons, indicating possible convergent evolution , as enanthiornithines weren't even modern birds . The term raptor
3366-444: The nest and hunting. Larger females are favored because they can incubate larger numbers of offspring, while also being able to brood a larger clutch size. It is a long-standing belief that birds lack any sense of smell, but it has become clear that many birds do have functional olfactory systems . Despite this, most raptors are still considered to primarily rely on vision, with raptor vision being extensively studied. A 2020 review of
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#17328843666303432-629: The object. Second and third are sideways to the right or left of the object, with their head axis positioned approximately 40° adjacent to the object. This movement is believed to be associated with lining up the incoming image to fall on the deep fovea. Raptors will choose which head position to use depending on the distance to the object. At distances as close as 8m, they used primarily binocular vision. At distances greater than 21m, they spent more time using monocular vision. At distances greater than 40m, they spent 80% or more time using their monocular vision. This suggests that raptors tilt their head to rely on
3498-464: The oldest dates published so far in the case of birds of prey. For example, a previous reconstruction of migratory behaviour in one Buteo clade with a result of the origin of migration around 5 million years ago was also supported by that study. Migratory species of raptors may have had a southern origin because it seems that all of the major lineages within Accipitridae had an origin in one of
3564-412: The order Ciconiiformes . The secretary bird and/or osprey are sometimes listed as subfamilies of Acciptridae: Sagittariinae and Pandioninae, respectively. Australia's letter-winged kite is a member of the family Accipitridae , although it is a nocturnal bird. The nocturnal birds of prey—the owls —are classified separately as members of two extant families of the order Strigiformes : Below
3630-503: The order Gruiformes . And they are still not considered birds of prey in general parlance. Their bodies are also shaped completely differently from birds of prey. They have long legs and long necks. While secretarybirds also have long legs, they otherwise resemble raptors. Seriemas do not. Their beak is hooked, but too long. Migratory behaviour evolved multiple times within accipitrid raptors. The earliest event occurred nearly 14 to 12 million years ago. This result seems to be one of
3696-515: The overall phylogeny of the Falconidae , is not very informative in the present genus. Nonetheless, a core group containing the peregrine and Barbary falcons, which, in turn, group with the hierofalcon and the more distant prairie falcon (which was sometimes placed with the hierofalcon, though it is entirely distinct biogeographically ), as well as at least most of the "typical" hobbies, are confirmed to be monophyletic as suspected. Given that
3762-808: The owls remained monogeneric (family Ægolii, genus Strix ), whilst the diurnal raptors were divided into three families: Vulturini, Gypaëti, and Accipitrini. Thus Vieillot's families were similar to the Linnaean genera, with the difference that shrikes were no longer included amongst the birds of prey. In addition to the original Vultur and Falco (now reduced in scope), Vieillot adopted four genera from Savigny: Phene , Haliæetus , Pandion , and Elanus . He also introduced five new genera of vultures ( Gypagus , Catharista , Daptrius , Ibycter , Polyborus ) and eleven new genera of accipitrines ( Aquila , Circaëtus , Circus , Buteo , Milvus , Ictinia , Physeta , Harpia , Spizaëtus , Asturina , Sparvius ). Falconimorphae
3828-457: The peregrine falcon and its relatives, variably sized powerful birds that also have a black malar area (except some very light color morphs ), and often a black cap, as well. They are very fast birds with a maximum speed of 390 kilometres per hour. Otherwise, they are somewhat intermediate between the other groups, being chiefly medium grey with some lighter or brownish colours on their upper sides. They are, on average, more delicately patterned than
3894-517: The peregrine-hierofalcon complex, or the aplomado falcon lineage—can be quite confidently placed from the Miocene - Pliocene boundary through the Zanclean and Piacenzian and just into the Gelasian, that is from 2.4 to 5.3 Mya, when the malar-striped kestrels diversified. Some groups of falcons, such as the hierofalcon complex and the peregrine-Barbary superspecies, have only evolved in more recent times;
3960-820: The placement of the birds of prey. Their analysis has found support in a clade consisting of the Strigiformes and Accipitriformes in new clade Hieraves . Hieraves was also recovered to be the sister clade to Australaves (which it includes the Cariamiformes and Falconiformes along with Psittacopasserae ). Below is their phylogeny from the study. Coraciimorphae (woodpeckers, rollers, hornbills, etc.) [REDACTED] Strigiformes (owls) [REDACTED] Accipitriformes (hawks, vultures, and relatives) [REDACTED] Cariamiformes (seriemas) [REDACTED] Falconiformes (falcons) [REDACTED] Psittacopasserae (parrots and songbirds) [REDACTED] Cariamiformes
4026-416: The present diversity of very recent origin suggests that this lineage may have nearly gone extinct in the recent past. The phylogeny and delimitations of the peregrine and hobby groups are more problematic. Molecular studies have only been conducted on a few species, and the morphologically ambiguous taxa have often been little researched. The morphology of the syrinx , which contributes well to resolving
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#17328843666304092-464: The question: why species winters at one location while the others are elsewhere. Temperature and precipitation related factors differ in the limitation of species distributions. "This suggests that the migratory behaviours differ among the three main migratory routes for these species" which may have important conservational consequences in the protection of migratory raptors. Birds of prey (raptors) are known to display patterns of sexual dimorphism . It
4158-484: The species of the former seem to be 120,000 years old or so. The sequence follows the taxonomic order of White et al. (1996), except for adjustments in the kestrel sequence. Several more paleosubspecies of extant species also been described; see species accounts for these. "Sushkinia" pliocaena from the Early Pliocene of Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) appears to be a falcon of some sort. It might belong in this genus or
4224-415: The unrelated family Accipitridae , who use talons on their feet. The largest falcon is the gyrfalcon at up to 65 cm (26 in) in length. The smallest falcon species is the pygmy falcon , which measures just 20 cm (7.9 in). As with hawks and owls , falcons exhibit sexual dimorphism , with the females typically larger than the males, thus allowing a wider range of prey species. As
4290-476: The world except Antarctica , though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene . Adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have longer flight feathers , which make their configuration more like that of a general-purpose bird such as a broadwing . This makes flying easier while still learning
4356-515: Was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . The type species is the merlin ( Falco columbarius ). The genus name Falco is Late Latin meaning a "falcon" from falx , falcis , meaning "a sickle", referring to the claws of the bird. In Middle English and Old French , the title faucon refers generically to several captive raptor species. The traditional term for
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