Falcons
Birds of Prey ... The Sport of Falconry
Falcons have thin, pointed wings, which give them speed and the ability to change direction rapidly. Peregrine Falcons, the fastest birds on Earth, are said to have reached stoop speeds of up to 200 mph.
Other falcons include the Gyrfalcon, Lanner Falcon, and the Merlin. Some small insectivorous falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some which sometimes hover as they hunt for small rodents are named as kestrels.
The traditional term for a male falcon is a "tiercel". It is so called, from Latin tertius, because it is roughly a third smaller than the female.
The technique of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as falconry.
The falcons are part of the family Falconidae, which also includes the caracaras, Laughing Falcon, forest falcons, and falconets.
In February 2005 the Canadian scientist Dr Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian IQ in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. Falcons were named among the most intelligent birds based on this scale.
Falcon fossils have been found dated 50 million years ago in the Eocene in the Messel Pit in Germany.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
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