Falcons (Falco) are a group of birds that include 37 species of kestrels, falcons, hobbies and merlins. Members of this group occupy a wide range throughout the northern hemisphere including Europe, Asia and North America. Adult falcons are notable for their tapered wings which enable them to achieve high flying speeds and impressive maneuoverability. Young falcons have a broader wing shape than adults—as they mature their wing shape becomes more tapered.
Evolution:
The fossil record for falcons is not as complete as other birds of prey. The oldest falcon fossils date to the Late Miocene and are consequently less than 10 million years old. At this time many other modern groups of birds became aparent in the fossil record. It is thought though that the falcons are older than 10 million years old, and are thought to have inhabited North America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
Classification:
Falcons fall into several general groups including the kestrels, the hobbies and their relatives, the peregrine falcon and its relatives and the hierofalcons. Kestrels are small falcons with a brown body. They feed on a variety of terrestrial vertebrates such as small mammals and reptiles. The hobbies and their relatives are dkar grey and they feed on small birds. Peregrine falcons are powerful falcons known for their fast dive speeds (they have been measured to reach speeds as fast as 200 miles per hour when diving).
Falcons are birds of prey. Most birds of prey have drab plumage consisting primarily of brown, grey or white feathers that blend well with the palette of the surrounding landscape. Their eyes are forward-facing forward, an orientation that makes it easier for them to spot prey. The shape of their tail reflects their aerial behavior—species that require greater in-flight maneuverability have broad tails, species that rely more on speed than maneuverability have short tails, and species that require the ability to fly at slow speeds have forked tails. Raptors' sharp, hooked bills enables them to tear the flesh of their prey with ease.
The distribution of raptors varies among the subgroups. Falcons, hawks and ospreys are among the more cosmopolitan birds in the group, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. In contrast, the Secretary bird inhabits a restricted range in sub-Saharan Africa. New World vultures live only in North and South America. Within their various ranges, species occupy many different habitats including arctic, tundra, forest,
The following is a list of falcon species:
- African Hobby (Falco cuvierii)
- African Red-necked Falcon (Falco (chicquera) ruficollis)
- Altai Falcon (Falco cherrug altaicus)
- American Kestrel or "Sparrow Hawk" (Falco sparverius)
- Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis)
- Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis)
- Australian Hobby or Little Falcon (Falco longipennis)
- Banded Kestrel (Falco zoniventris)
- Barbary Falcon (Falco (peregrinus) pelegrinoides)
- Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis)
- Black Falcon (Falco subniger)
- Brown Falcon (Falco berigora)
- Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
- Dickinson's Kestrel (Falco dickinsoni)
- Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)
- Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo)
- Eurasian Merlin (Falco (columbarius) aesalon)
- Fox Kestrel (Falco alopex)
- Greater Kestrel (Falco rupicoloides)
- Grey Falcon (Falco hypoleucos)
- Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus)
- Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)
- Laggar Falcon (Falco jugger)
- Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus)
- Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)
- Malagasy Kestrel (Falco newtoni)
- Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus)
- Merlin or "Pigeon Hawk" (Falco columbarius)
- Nankeen Kestrel or Australian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)
- New Zealand Falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae)
- Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus)
- Oriental Hobby (Falco severus)
- Pallid Falcon (Falco peregrinus cassini var. kreyenborgi)
- Peale's Falcon (Falco peregrinus pealei)
- Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
- Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
- Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
- Red-necked Falcon (Falco chicquera)
- Réunion Kestrel (Falco duboisi - extinct)
- Rock Kestrel (Falco (tinnunculus) rupicolus)
- Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug)
- Seychelles Kestrel (Falco araea)
- Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor)
- Spotted Kestrel (Falco moluccensis)
- Taita Falcon (Falco fasciinucha)
