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The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is a small falcon of the order Falconiformes, family Falconidae, with white cheeks and two black vertical cheek stripes. The male has a rusty back and tail, grey wings. The female is brownish. It forages for mice, lizards and insects by hovering above the ground, then diving for its prey. It occurs in many habitats, including borders of wetlands.
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Elanet is the name of certain species of raptorial birds of the genus Elanus, and nearly allied to the kites. Such are the black-winged falcon (Elanus melanopterus) of Africa, Asia, and New Zealand, and the black - shouldered hawk (Elanus dispar) of America.
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Falconidae is the Falcon family of the Accipitres order of birds of prey. The beak is hooked and generally furnished with a sharp projection or tooth on each side. The head is wholly covered with feathers apart from the cere. The feet are strong and armed with curved, retractile, sharp talons.
The family includes the different species of eagles as well as the hawks and falcons properly so called, comprising the sub-families Buteoninae (buzzards), Polyborinae (caracaras), Aquilinae (eagles), Falconinae (falcons), Milvinae (kites), Accipitrinae (hawks), and Circinae (harriers).
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In zoology, the term falculate refers to something being curved and sharp-pointed, like a falcula, or the claw of a falcon.
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The kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) or Windhover is a small British bird of the falcon family Falconidae. The kestrel has brown plumage that is lightly barred with black, while the head, neck and tail are bluish grey. The kestrel generally eats mice and insects, though they will sometimes take small birds and chickens. When hunting the kestrel hovers almost motionless before swooping down on its prey.
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The kite is about twenty species of birds of prey of the falcon (Accipitridae) family.
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The lanner (Falco Feldeggi or Falco lanarius) is a small falcon found in Mediterranean countries. It has plummage that is brown on the upperparts, with a barred back and blackish head and a reddish neck. The adult Lanner hrows to a length of 43 cm.
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The Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a dignified bird of the sub-family Falconinoe. The upper plumage is dark bluish grey with darker bands. The head is coloured black as are the moustaches descending from the gape. The lower plumage is white, the breast transversely barred with brown. The beak is blue and darker at the point. The cere is yellow as are the feet with black claws. The length is around 40 centimetres, the female being larger than the male.
Traditionally Peregrine falcons live in the countryside, but at the start of the 21st century they started moving into British cities, including London, where there was an abundance of food - their staple diet being pigeons supplemented by other birds and occasional small mammals, and even the occasional barn owl.
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Dashiell Hammett was an American novelist. He was born in 1894 and died in 1961. He worked as a private detective before writing such detective stories as The Maltese Falcon in 1930 and The Thin Man in 1932.
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Captain Robert Falcon Scott was an English explorer. He was born in 1868 near Devonport, Devon and died in 1912. He commanded the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901 to 1904 which explored the Ross Sea and discovered King Edward VII land. Later he was beaten to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen and died on the return journey as a result of poor weather and disease.
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The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
©1993 - 2009 The Probert Encyclopaedia
Southampton, United Kingdom
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