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Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey and includes caracaras, laughing falcon, forest falcons, falconets, pygmy falcons, falcons and kestrels.They 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).
The traditional term for a male falcon is tercel (British spelling) or tiercel (American spelling), from the Latin tertius 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 [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] ( Old French ...
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 [1] and is divided into three subfamilies: Herpetotherinae, which includes the laughing falcon and forest falcons; Polyborinae, which includes the spot-winged ...
The peregrine falcon has a body length of 34 to 58 cm (13–23 in) and a wingspan from 74 to 120 cm (29–47 in). [11] [20] The male and female have similar markings and plumage but, as with many birds of prey, the peregrine falcon displays marked sexual dimorphism in size, with the female measuring up to 30% larger than the male. [21]
The prairie falcon eats mostly small mammals (especially in summer) and small to medium-sized birds caught in flight, though as an opportunistic predator it will occasionally take larger birds. Though accounts of the prairie falcon taking prey as large as geese are verifiable (a prey that may be over 5 times heavier than a large female prairie ...
The saker falcon is the second fastest bird in level flight after the white-throated needletail swift (unconfirmed), capable of reaching 150 km/h (93 mph). It is also the third fastest animal in the world overall after the peregrine falcon and the golden eagle , with all three species capable of executing high speed dives known as "stooping ...
Extraordinary images from this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year award showcase the beauty of birds.
A large falcon, it preys on birds and bats. [2] Most likely either the lanner or peregrine falcon was the sacred species of falcon to the ancient Egyptians , [ 3 ] and some ancient Egyptian deities , like Ra and Horus , were often represented as a man with the head of a lanner falcon.