List of Falconidae explained

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 35g, to the gyrfalcon, which can weigh as much as 1735g. 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 males and females, although a few species have some sexual dimorphism in boldness of plumage. They differ from other Falconiformes in killing with their beaks instead of their talons. They have a "tooth" on the side of their beak for the purpose.

They are classified in eleven genera and 67 species of which two are extinct.

Conventions

Conservation statuses listed for each species follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The symbol indicates that the species's population trend is positive, the symbol indicates that the species's population trend is negative, the symbol indicates that the species's population is stable, and the symbol indicates that the species's population trend is unknown. Population trends are based on the Red List of Threatened Species. The super-scripted "IUCN" tag is a link to that species's Red List of Threatened Species page. If a species has taxonomic synonyms, a list of these is provided in the "Scientific name" column, underneath the binomial name and author. If a species has subspecies, a list of these is provided in the "Common name" column, underneath the common name.

Classification

Family: Falconidae

• Subfamily Polyborinae
  • Genus Daptrius – black caracara
  • Genus Ibycter – red-throated caracara (sometimes included in Daptrius)
  • Genus Phalcoboenus (4 species) – Andean and southern South American caracaras
  • Genus Caracara – crested caracaras (2 living species, 1 extinct)
  • Genus Milvago – brown caracaras (2 species)
  • Genus Micrastur – forest falcons (7 species)
• Subfamily Falconinae
  • Genus Herpetotheres – laughing falcon
  • Genus Spiziapteryx – spot-winged falconet
  • Genus Polihierax – pygmy falcons (2 species, includes Neohierax)
  • Genus Microhierax – typical falconets (5 species)
  • Genus Falco – true falcons, hobbies and kestrels (around 37 species)

Following list of Falconidae is based on International Ornithological Congress' World Bird List.

Subfamily Polyborinae

Traditionally, subfamily Polyborinae comprises caracaras and forest falcons which are principally birds of South and Central America.^[1] They are classified in six genera and 18 species of which one is extinct since 1906. Unlike the Falco falcons in the same family, caracaras 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).

Genus Daptrius

Genus Daptrius Vieillot, 1816 – 1 species

Genus Ibycter

Genus Ibycter Vieillot, 1816 – 1 species

Genus Phalcoboenus

Genus Phalcoboenus d'Orbigny, 1834 - 4 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Carunculated caracara P. carunculatus Des Murs, 1853 South America: Ecuador, southwest Colombia Mountain caracara P. megalopterus (Meyen, 1834) South America: Peru to central Chile White-throated caracara P. albogularis (Gould, 1837) South America: Southern Chile, southern Argentina Striated caracara P. australis (Gmelin, 1788) South America: Southern islands

Genus Caracara

Genus Caracara Merrem, 1826 - 3 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Guadalupe caracara (Mourning caracara) C. lutosa† (Ridgway, 1876) Guadalupe Island, Mexico Extinct probably since 1906 Crested caracara (Carancho) (Carcará) C. plancus (Miller, 1777)

Genus Milvago

Genus Milvago Spix, 1824 - 2 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Yellow-headed caracara M. chimachima (Vieillot, 1816) Central & South America: Costa Rica to northern Argentina Chimango caracara M. chimango (Vieillot, 1816) South America : Southern Cone

Genus Micrastur

Forest falcons are endemic to the Americas. They are classified as 7 species in one genus. They 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.^[2]

Genus Micrastur G.R. Gray, 1841 - 7 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Barred forest falcon M. ruficollis (Vieillot, 1817) Central & South America: Southern Mexico to northern Argentina Plumbeous forest falcon M. plumbeus W.L. Sclater, 1918 Central & South America: Southwestern Colombia, northwestern Ecuador Lined forest falcon M. gilvicollis (Vieillot, 1817) South America: Amazon rainforest Cryptic forest falcon M. mintoni Whittaker, 2003 South America: From eastern Amazon rainforest south to Bolivia Slaty-backed forest falcon M. mirandollei (Schlegel, 1862) Central & South America: Costa Rica to eastern Brazil Collared forest falcon M. semitorquatus (Vieillot, 1817) Central & South America: Central Mexico to northern Argentina Buckley's forest falcon M. buckleyi Swann, 1919 South America: Western Amazon rainforest

Subfamily Falconinae

Genus Herpethotheres

Genus Herpetotheres Vieillot, 1817 - 1 species

Genus Spiziapteryx

Genus Spiziapteryx Kaup, 1852 - 1 species

Genus Polihierax

Genus Polihierax Kaup, 1847 - 2 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Pygmy falcon (African pygmy falcon) P. semitorquatus (Smith, 1836) White-rumped falcon (White-rumped pygmy falcon) (White-rumped falconet) (Fielden's falconet) (Burmese pigmy falcon) P. insignis Walden, 1872

Genus Microhierax

Genus Microhierax Sharpe, 1874 - 5 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Collared falconet M. caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758) Black-thighed falconet M. fringillarius (Drapiez, 1824) White-fronted falconet (Bornean falconet) M. latifrons Sharpe, 1879 Philippine falconet M. erythrogenys (Vigors, 1831) Pied falconet M. melanoleucos (Blyth, 1843)

Genus Falco

Falcons are roughly divisible into three or four groups. The first contains the kestrels (probably excepting the American kestrel); the second group contains slightly larger (on average) and more elegant species, the hobbies and relatives. Third are the peregrine falcon and its relatives: variably sized powerful birds which also have a black malar area (except some very light color morphs), and often a black cap also. Very similar to these and sometimes included therein are the four or so species of hierofalcons (literally, "hawk-falcons").

Genus Falco Linnaeus, 1758 - 40 species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Range Picture Lesser kestrel F. naumanni Fleischer, 1818 Common kestrel (European kestrel) (Eurasian kestrel) (Old World kestrel) F. tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 Rock kestrel F. rupicolus Daudin, 1800 Southern Africa Malagasy kestrel (Madagascar kestrel) (Malagasy spotted kestrel) (Newton's kestrel) (Madagascar spotted kestrel) F. newtoni Gurney, 1863 Madagascar, Aldabra Island Mauritius kestrel F. punctatus Temminck, 1821 Mauritius Reunion kestrel F. duboisi† Cowles, 1994 Réunion, extinct since c.1700 Seychelles kestrel F. araea (Oberholser, 1917) Seychelles Islands Spotted kestrel (Moluccan kestrel) F. moluccensis (Bonaparte, 1850) Moluccas, Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas, Java and Bali Nankeen kestrel F. cenchroides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 Widespread in Australia American kestrel F. sparverius Linnaeus, 1758 Greater kestrel (White-eyed kestrel) F. rupicoloides Smith, 1829 Fox kestrel F. alopex (Heuglin, 1861) Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya Grey kestrel F. ardosiaceus Vieillot, 1823 Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia south to Tanzania and west to Angola and Namibia Dickinson's kestrel (White-rumped kestrel) F. dickinsoni Sclater, 1864 Angola and Namibia to central Kenya and northern Mozambique Banded kestrel (Madagascar banded kestrel) (Barred kestrel) (Madagascar barred kestrel) F. zoniventris Peters, 1854 Madagascar Red-necked falcon F. chicquera Daudin, 1800 Red-footed falcon F. vespertinus Linnaeus, 1766 Amur falcon F. amurensis Radde, 1863 Eastern Asia, southeastern Africa Eleonora's falcon F. eleonorae Gené, 1839 Southern Europe and also northern Africa, eastern Africa, Madagascar Sooty falcon F. concolor Temminck, 1825 Aplomado falcon F. femoralis Temminck, 1822 Widespread in Central & South America Merlin F. columbarius Linnaeus, 1758 Bat falcon F. rufigularis Daudin, 1800 Northern Mexico to northeastern Argentina Orange-breasted falcon F. deiroleucus Temminck, 1825 Southern Mexico to northeastern Argentina Eurasian hobby F. subbuteo Linnaeus, 1758 African hobby F. cuvierii Smith, 1830 Eastern, central, western and southeastern Africa Oriental hobby F. severus Horsfield, 1821 Northwestern India to Solomon Islands Australian hobby (Little falcon) F. longipennis Swainson, 18371 Widespread in Australia New Zealand falcon F. novaeseelandiae Gmelin, 1788 Widespread in New Zealand Brown falcon F. berigora Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 Widespread in Australia Grey falcon F. hypoleucos Gould, 1841 Australia Black falcon F. subniger Gray, 1843 Australia Lanner falcon F. biarmicus Temminck, 1825 Laggar falcon F. jugger J.E. Gray, 1834 Pakistan to Burma, India Saker falcon F. cherrug Gray, 1834 Central and southern Europe, northeastern Africa and northern Asia Gyrfalcon F. rusticolus Linnaeus, 1758 Arctic coasts of Northern America, Europe and Asia Prairie falcon F. mexicanus Schlegel, 1850 North America Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771 Widespread worldwide Barbary falcon Falco pelegrinoides Temminck, 1829 Southwestern Europe and northern Africa Taita falcon Falco fasciinucha Reichenow & Neumann, 1895 Eastern and southeastern Africa

Bibliography

• Web site: Gill, F.. Donsker, D.. Rasmussen, P. 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.1). 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1. Seriemas, falcons. 2020-03-17. .
• Thayer, John. Bangs, Outram. John Thayer (ornithologist). Outram Bangs. 1908. The Present State of the Ornis of Guadaloupe Island. Condor. 10. 3. 101-106. 10.2307/1360977. https://web.archive.org/web/20120205020939/http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v010n03/p0101-p0106.pdf . 2012-02-05. . 2027/hvd.32044072250186. free.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Subfamily Polyborinae (caracaras and forest falcons) . P. R. . Myers . C. S. . Parr . T. . Jones . G. S. . Hammond . T. A. . Dewey . Animal Diversity Web . University of Michigan . 2020-03-17.
2. Web site: Master List: Raptors . . 26 April 2012 . IOC World Birld List . 17 May 2012 .