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Falconidae
The falcons and caracaras are around 65 species of Diurnality, diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order (biology), 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 the spot-winged falconet and the Caracara (subfamily), caracaras; and Falconinae, the falcons and kestrels (''Falco'') and falconets (''Microhierax''). Description 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 , to the gyrfalcon, which can weigh as much as . They have strongly hooked bills, sharply curved talons and excellent eyesight. The plumage is usually composed of browns, whites, chestnut, black and grey, often with barring of patterning. There is little difference in the plumage of m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falcon
Falcons () 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 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 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falco (bird)
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow bird wing, wings are called hobby (bird), hobbies, and some that hover (behaviour)#Wind hoverers, hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of 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 wikt:broadwing, broadwing. This makes flying easier while still learning 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 caracara (subfamily), caracaras and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. As is typical for avivore, bird-eating (avivore) raptors, peregrine falcons are Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. Historically, it has also been known as "black-cheeked falcon" in Australia, and "duck hawk" in North America. The breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world's most widespread Raptor (bird), raptor and one of the most widely found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caracara (subfamily)
Caracaras are bird of prey, birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons, but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily, Caracarinae, or classified as members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae. Caracaras are principally birds of South America, South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States. Unlike the ''Falco'' falcons in the same family, the birds in the five relevant genera are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often scavengers (a notable exception being the red-throated caracara). Species Distribution The caracaras are found throughout much of the Americas. The range of the crested caracara extends as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States. In the Southern Hemisphere, the striated caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, just off the coast of the southernmost tip o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyborinae
Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in subfamily Polyborinae with the forest falcons, but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily, Caracarinae, or classified as members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae. Caracaras are principally birds of South and Central America, just reaching the southern United States. Unlike the ''Falco'' falcons in the same family, the birds in the five relevant genera are not fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often scavengers (a notable exception being the red-throated caracara). Species Distribution The caracaras are found throughout much of the Americas. The range of the crested caracara extends as far north as the states of Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States. In the Southern Hemisphere, the striated caracara inhabits the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Firelan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the Oligocene epoch. The two extant herpetotherine genera split around 20 million years ago in the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ... epoch with the extinct genus '' Thegornis''. References Birds of prey Bird subfamilies {{Falconiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falconinae
Falconinae is a subfamily of falconid birds of prey that includes 44 species in three genera. It includes '' Microhierax'' (the typical falconets), '' Polihierax'' (the pygmy falcons), and '' Falco'' (the falcons). Molecular data since 2015 has found support in the grouping of these genera, with ''Polihierax'' being paraphyletic in respect to ''Falco''. Falconinae and their sister taxon, Polyborinae, split off from Herpetotherinae around 30.2 million years ago in the Oligocene epoch. Falconines split off from the polyborines around 20 million years ago in the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ... epoch. References Birds of prey Bird subfamilies {{Falconiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falconiformes
The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae, Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, the other bird of prey families New World vulture, Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagittariidae, Sagittariidae (secretarybird), Pandion (bird), Pandionidae (ospreys), and Accipitridae, Accipitridae (hawks) were classified in Falconiformes. A variety of comparative genome analyses published since 2008, however, found that falcons are part of a clade of birds called Australaves, which also includes seriemas, parrots and passerines. Within Australaves falcons are more closely related to the parrot-passerine clade than they are to the seriemas. The hawks, vultures and owls are placed in the clade Afroaves. The cladogram of the Telluraves shown below is based on the study by Josefin Stiller and collaborators published in 2024. The species numbers are taken from the December 2023 version of the list main ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laughing Falcon
The laughing falcon (''Herpetotheres cachinnans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found from Mexico south through Central America and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023 Taxonomy and systematics The laughing falcon was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the falcons and eagles in the genus '' Falco'' and coined the binomial name ''Falco cachinnans''. Linnaeus based his account on information from one of his students, Daniel Rolander, who had visited the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Falcon
Forest falcons are members of the genus ''Micrastur'', part of the family Falconidae. They are endemic to the Americas, found from Mexico in the north, south through Central America and large parts of South America, and as far south as northern Argentina. Most are restricted to humid tropical and subtropical forests, but the two most widespread species, the collared and the barred forest falcon, also range into drier and more open habitats. Forest falcons, like most ''Accipiter''-type hawks (but unlike other falcons), are adapted for agility in thick cover rather than outright speed in the open air. They have short wings, long tails, and extraordinarily acute hearing. While generally visually inconspicuous, their songs are commonly heard. Their diet is a mixture of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Hunting is often performed in goshawk fashion: the bird takes up a perch in an inconspicuous position and waits for a prey species to pass, then strikes with a short, rapid pursuit. Fores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyrfalcon
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), also abbreviated as gyr, is a bird of prey from the genus ''Falco'' (falcons and kestrels) and the largest species of the family Falconidae. A high-latitude species, the gyrfalcon breeds on the Arctic coasts and tundra, the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region, where it is mainly a resident species. Some gyrfalcons bird migration, disperse more widely after the breeding season or in winter, and individual vagrancy (biology), vagrancy can take birds for long distances. Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark brown. These colour variations are called polymorphism (biology), morphs. Like other falcons, it shows sexual dimorphism, with the female much larger than the male. For centuries, the gyrfalcon has been valued as a falconry, hunting bird. Typical prey includes the ptarmigan and waterfowl, which it may attack in flight; and it also hunts fish and small mammals. Taxonomy and etymology T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microhierax
The typical falconets, ''Microhierax'', are a bird of prey genus in the family (biology), family Falconidae. They are found in southeast Asia and the smallest members of Falconiformes, averaging about in length and in weight. The smallest members of the genus are the relatively widespread black-thighed falconet, and the white-fronted falconet on the island of Borneo. Taxonomy and systematics The first description by a European ornithologist of a falconet from this group was published by George Edwards (naturalist), George Edwards in 1750, as "the little black and orange colour'd Indian hawk". It was from a specimen that had been collected in Bengal and sent to the King's physician, Dr Mead. In 1758 Carl Linnaeus used the illustration and description by Edwards to Species description, formally describe the species under the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Falco cærulescens'' In 1760 the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson also used Edwards' publication to describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
