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Hierofalcon
The hierofalcons are four closely related species of falcon which make up the subgenus ''Hierofalco'': * Lanner falcon, ''Falco biarmicus'' * Laggar falcon, ''Falco jugger'' * Saker falcon, ''Falco cherrug'' * Gyrfalcon, ''Falco rusticolus'' The black falcon of Australia is occasionally considered allied to the hierofalcons: indeed it seems fairly close to them (Wink et al. 2004). They represent members of their genus which are similar to species like the peregrine falcon in outward appearance, but usually with more phaeomelanins which impart reddish or brown colors, and generally more strongly patterned plumage reminiscent of hawks. Their undersides usually have a lengthwise pattern of dark blotches, lines or arrowhead marks. They hunt usually in level flight, more like Accipiters than peregrines with their dive attack or hobbies with their acrobatic pursuits. Recent DNA sequence data studies have confirmed that the hierofalcons are a monophyletic group—and, incidentally ... [...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] |
Prairie Falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-sized Falconiformes, falcon found in Western North America. A separate species from the peregrine falcon, with which it shares some visual similarities, the prairie falcon is, essentially, an arid-climate divergence of earlier peregrine falcon lineage. It is thus able to thrive on a more meager, opportunistic diet compared to that of the peregrine, and is generally lighter in weight than a peregrine of similar wingspan. Having evolved in harsher and desert environments, often with low prey density, the prairie falcon has developed into an aggressive and opportunistic hunter of a wide range of both mammalian and avian prey, as well as occasional reptiles. It will regularly take prey from the size of House sparrow, sparrows or Finch, finches to birds approximately its own weight, and occasionally much larger. The prairie falcon is the only larger falcon species native strictly to North America (others are found throughout the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saker Falcon
The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large falcon species. It breeds from Central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is a partial migrant, which means that some part of the population is migratory, some part is not. In Europe, for example, a part othe juveniles are migrating while adults are mostly resident. The European and West Asian migratory sakers spend the winter in the Sahel region. On migration, they cross the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Pakistan, where they are exposed to illegal trapping. The migratory birds to the east from Altai Mountains spend the winter in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The saker falcon is the second fastest bird in level flight after the white-throated needletail swift (unconfirmed), capable of reaching . 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", approaching . The saker fa ... [...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] |
Falco Biarmicus
The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A large falcon, it preys on birds and bats. Most likely either the lanner or peregrine falcon was the sacred species of falcon to the ancient Egyptians, and some ancient Egyptian deities, like Ra and Horus, were often represented as a man with the head of a lanner falcon. Taxonomy and etymology The lanner falcon was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1825 under the current binomial name ''Falco biarmicus''. The type locality is Caffraria and the Cape of Good Hope. ''Falco'' is Late Latin for a "falcon", from ''falx'', ''falcis'' "sickle". The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus had used the specific epithet ''biarmicus'' for the bearded reedling and Temminck clearly believed that the word meant "bearded" but it is lik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falco Jugger
The laggar falcon (''Falco jugger''), also known as the lugger falcon or jugger (from Hindi जग्गर — jaggar, "falcon"), is a mid-sized bird of prey which occurs in the Indian subcontinent from extreme southeastern Iran, southeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, through India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar. It resembles the lanner falcon but is darker overall, and has blackish "trousers" (tibiotarsus feathers). Fledglings have an almost entirely dark underside, and first-year subadult birds still retain much dark on the belly. This species belongs to a close-knit complex of falcons known as hierofalcons. In this group, there is ample evidence for rampant hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting which confounds analyses of DNA sequence data to a massive extent; molecular studies with small sample sizes can simply not be expected to yield reliable conclusions in the entire hierofalcon group. The radiation of the entire living diversity of hierofalcon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falco Rusticolus
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 disperse more widely after the breeding season or in winter, and individual 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 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 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 The gyrfalcon was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lanner Falcon
The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A large falcon, it preys on birds and bats. Most likely either the lanner or peregrine falcon was the sacred species of falcon to the ancient Egyptians, and some ancient Egyptian deities, like Ra and Horus, were often represented as a man with the head of a lanner falcon. Taxonomy and etymology The lanner falcon was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1825 under the current binomial name ''Falco biarmicus''. The type locality is Caffraria and the Cape of Good Hope. ''Falco'' is Late Latin for a "falcon", from ''falx'', ''falcis'' "sickle". The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus had used the specific epithet ''biarmicus'' for the bearded reedling and Temminck clearly believed that the word meant "bearded" but it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
