Falcon

Falcons are special birds of prey that belong to the genus Falco. There are about 40 different kinds of falcons around the world. They live on every continent except Antarctica. These birds are known for their amazing flying skills. Adult falcons have thin, pointed wings that help them fly very fast and turn quickly. Young falcons, however, have longer wings that make flying easier while they are still learning.

One of the biggest falcons is the gyrfalcon, which can grow up to 65 cm long. The smallest falcon is the pygmy falcon, measuring just 20 cm. Like many birds, female falcons are usually bigger than males. This size difference helps them catch a wider variety of prey.

Falcons are excellent hunters. They use their strong beaks to catch their food, unlike hawks and eagles, who use their sharp claws called talons. They also have incredibly sharp eyesight. Some falcons can see almost three times better than humans. The peregrine falcon is the fastest bird, able to dive through the air at speeds of up to 320 km/h, or even faster in some cases.

Taxonomy

The genus Falco 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 name Falco comes from Late Latin, meaning "falcon," and refers to the bird's claws.

In Middle English and Old French, the term faucon was used for several captive raptor species. The word for a male falcon, tercel or tiercel, comes from the Latin tertius, meaning "third," because it was believed only one in three eggs hatched a male bird. A falcon chick in its downy stage is called an eyas. The practice of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as falconry.

Falcons are divided into groups based on their size and appearance. Some are small and stocky with brown uppersides, while others are larger with dark gray plumage. They hunt a variety of animals, including rodents, reptiles, insects, and smaller birds. The peregrine falcon is known for its incredible speed, reaching up to 390 kilometres per hour. Other groups include the hobbies and hierofalcons, each with distinct features and hunting styles.

Image	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Malagasy kestrel	Falco newtoni	Madagascar, Mayotte, and the Comores.
	Seychelles kestrel	Falco araeus	Seychelles Islands
	Mauritius kestrel	Falco punctatus	Mauritius
	Spotted kestrel	Falco moluccensis	Wallacea and Java.
	Nankeen kestrel or Australian kestrel	Falco cenchroides	Australia and New Guinea.
	Common kestrel	Falco tinnunculus	Widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
	Rock kestrel	Falco rupicolus	Northwestern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to southern Tanzania, and south to South Africa.
	Greater kestrel	Falco rupicoloides	Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, parts of Angola and Zambia and in much of South Africa.
	Fox kestrel	Falco alopex	South of the Sahara from Mali eastwards as far as Ethiopia and north-west Kenya. It occasionally wanders west to Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea and south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
	Lesser kestrel	Falco naumanni	Mediterranean across Central Asia into China and Mongolia.
	Grey kestrel	Falco ardosiaceus	Ethiopia, western parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
	Dickinson's kestrel	Falco dickinsoni	Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi along with north-eastern South Africa.
	Banded kestrel	Falco zoniventris	Madagascar
	Red-necked falcon	Falco chicquera	Africa, India
	Red-footed falcon	Falco vespertinus	Russia, Ukraine and bordering regions.
	Amur falcon	Falco amurensis	South-eastern Siberia and Northern China.
	Eleonora's falcon	Falco eleonorae	Greece, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and off Spain, Italy, Croatia, Morocco and Algeria.
	Sooty falcon	Falco concolor	Northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region.
	American kestrel or "sparrow hawk"	Falco sparverius	Central and western Alaska across northern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south throughout North America, into central Mexico and the Caribbean.
	Aplomado falcon	Falco femoralis	Northern Mexico and Trinidad locally to southern South America.
	Merlin or "pigeon hawk"	Falco columbarius	Eurasia, North Africa, North America.
	Bat falcon	Falco rufigularis	Tropical Mexico, Central and South America, and Trinidad
	Orange-breasted falcon	Falco deiroleucus	Southern Mexico to northern Argentina.
	Eurasian hobby	Falco subbuteo	Africa, Europe and Asia.
	African hobby	Falco cuvierii	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
	Oriental hobby	Falco severus	Eastern Himalayas and ranges southwards through Indochina to Australasia
	Australian hobby or little falcon	Falco longipennis	Australia
	New Zealand falcon or karearea	Falco novaeseelandiae	New Zealand
	Brown falcon	Falco berigora	Australia and New Guinea.
	Grey falcon	Falco hypoleucos	Australia
	Black falcon	Falco subniger	Australia
	Lanner falcon	Falco biarmicus	Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia.
	Laggar falcon	Falco jugger	Southeastern Iran, southeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, through India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar.
	Saker falcon	Falco cherrug	Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China.
	Gyrfalcon	Falco rusticolus	Eastern and western Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Iceland and Norway.
	Prairie falcon	Falco mexicanus	Western North America.
	Peregrine falcon or "duck hawk"	Falco peregrinus	Cosmopolitan
	Taita falcon	Falco fasciinucha	Kenya