Falcon Handbook

[Hoax]

Common Kestrel



A small falcon, measuring 32 to 39 cm (13 to 15 in) in length, with a wingspan of 65 to 82 cm (26 to 32 in). Considerably smaller than most falcons, but still larger than most song birds.

Coloration: Mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upper side and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside. The tail has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All Common Kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe. The cere, feet and eye rings are bright yellow. The bill, toenails and iris are dark.

Males: Have less black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. Weigh around 5.5 oz on average.

Females: The tail is brown with black bars in females. Females are noticeably larger than males; weighing around 6.5 oz on average.

Young: Juveniles look like the adult females, the underside streaks are wider, their cere, feet and eye rings are paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey before they grow their adult feathers.

Diet: Sizable insects (camel spiders, beetles, winged termites, grasshoppers etc), small birds and rodents (mice, voles, shrews etc)

[Hoax]

Lesser Kestrel



Very similar to the Common, Kestrel, but with proportionally shorter wings and tails. Lesser Kestrels measure from 27 to 33 cm (10.6 to 13 in) in length, with a wingspan of 63 to 72 cm (24.8 to 28.3 in).

Coloration: It shares its brown back and barred grey under parts with the larger bird. The Lesser Kestrel lack the malar stripe and dark spotting on the back that the larger bird has. They have grey spots on the wings that the other species does not. The eye ring is bright yellow while the feet are orange-yellow. Instead of having the common dark talons of Falcons, the Lesser Kestrel actually have whitish-horn colored talons.

Males: Have a chestnut back and a bluish-grey crown, neck, rump and tail. The belly is a creamy pink with small brown streaks. The underside of the wings are white with black tips.

Females: Are paler than the males, with a brown back and head with a pale belly. Both the back and belly are streaked with brown. The wings are also light with dark barring and black tips.

Young: Juveniles closely resemble adult females.

Diet: Insects, but will eat smaller birds, reptiles and rodents (especially mice)

[Hoax]

American Kestrel



With the exception of the Seychelles Kestrel, the American Kestrel is the smallest falcon. Measuring from 19 to 21 cm (7 to 8 in) in length, with a wingspan of 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in). The wings are moderately long, fairly narrow and taper to a point. While the kestrel is perched, the wingtips are noticeably shorter than the tail tip.

Coloration: The head is white with a bluish-grey top. They have two narrow malar stripes on each side of their face, while other falcons only have one. Two black spots, called ocelli, which are believed to act as "false eyes", can be found on each side of the white or orange nape. There are 17 subspecies of the American Kestrel, depending on subspecies, size and color will differ. (Subspecies)

Males: Have bluish-grey wings with black spots and white undersides with black barring. The back is reddish-brown, with barring on the lower half. The belly and flanks are white with black spotting. The tail is also reddish-brown, with a white tip, or reddish-brown tip with a black band near the end. Males weigh 103 to 120 g (3.6 to 4.2 oz).

Females: Have reddish-brown with dark browning barring on the back and wings. The undersides of the female are creamy to buff with heavy brown streaking. The tail is noticeably different from the male's, being reddish-brown in color with many narrow dark black bars. Typically the female is larger than the male, weighing 126 to 166 g (4.4 to 5.9 oz).

Young: Juveniles have patterns similar to adults.

Diet: Small animals such as grasshoppers, dragonflies, lizards, mice and voles. They will also eat other small birds (sparrows). Also been reported to have killed larger animals such as snakes, bats and squirrels.

Notes: While not native to the UK, bird sanctuaries do house them and due to their size and ease of captive breeding they're used in scientific studies. They have been known to be stolen from the labs by the rats for companion use.
Some of them also have genetic defects much like the lab rats do.

[Hoax]

Red-Footed Falcon



A small, slender bird with long wings measuring from 28 to 34 cm (11 to 13.5 in) in length, with a wingspan of 65 to 75 cm (25.5 to 29.5 in)

Coloration: Varies between male and female.

Males: Bluish-grey with contrasting warm chestnut lower belly, under tail and thighs. Its legs, eye rings and a patch at the base of the beak is red.

Females: The larger females have blue-grey upper parts and tail patterned with black bands, with rusty orange or yellowish feathering on the under parts. The pale head bears a rust-colored crown, a blackish eye patch and a slight moustache. Unlike the male, the bare parts of the female are orange.

Young: Are brown above and buff below with dark streaks and a face pattern similar to the female.

Diet: Mostly frogs, small mammals, small birds and larger insects (grasshoppers, winged termites)

[Hoax]

Amur Falcon



A small slender bird, closely resembling the Red-Footed Falcon.

Coloration: Varies between male and female.

Males: Mostly a sooty brown to dark grey, with a chestnut lower belly and thighs with white under wings. The dark coloration contrasts with the bright orange-red legs and facial skin and orange base of the beak.

Females: Similar in size to the male. Has cream or orange under parts, with dark streaks and bars, grey under parts with a slate-colored head and cream forehead, with bars and spots on the wings and tail, which have broad, dark tips. The cheeks and throat are plain white and the face bears a dark eye patch and moustache.

Young: Resembles the female, but may be pale, with reddish-brown or buff edges to the feathers.

Diet: Consists mainly of insects.

[Hoax]

Merlin



Compared to other small falcons, the Merlin is more robust and heavily built. They measure 24 to 33 cm (9.5 to 13 in) in length, with a 50 to 67 cm (20 to 26 in) wingspan.

Coloration: Differs among subspecies. (Subspecies) Besides a faint white streak and faint dark malar stripe, barely visible in both the palest and darkest birds, the face of the Merlin is less strongly patterned than most falcons.

Males: Bluish-grey back, ranging from almost black to silver-grey. The under parts are buff to orange-tinted and more or less heavily streaked with black to reddish-brown.

Females: Brownish-grey to dark brown above and whitish buff spotted with brown below.

Young: Juveniles resembles the female. Hatchlings are covered in pale buff down feathers, shading to whitish on the belly.

Diet: Smaller birds, small mammals, insects and reptiles.

[Hoax]

(Eurasian) Hobby



A small, slender falcon with a long, square tail and long, scythe-like wings, giving it the appearance of a larger swift in flight.

Coloration: Males and females are similar in coloration, the upper parts and crown are a slate grey, with the under parts whitish or buff, heavily streaked with black, with distinctive chestnut thighs. The under wings and under tail are barred. A pale throat and pale, double-peaked cheeks contrast with a bold, dark malar stripe and there is a short thin streak above the eye. The legs and facial skin are yellow.

Young: Are browner and more mottled, than the adults. With buff rather than chestnut thighs and bluish-grey to greenish legs and facial skin.

Diet: Large insects, small birds, bats and mammals.

[Hoax]

Eleonora's Falcon


(Pair in the images are actually a lovely example of a light and dark morph mating pair. The dark morph is the male.)

An elegant falcon, looking like a larger Eurasian Hobby or a smaller Peregrine Falcon, with its long pointed wings, long tail and slim body. They measure 36 to 42 cm (14.2 to 16.5 in) in length, with a wingspan of 87 to 103 cm (34.3 to 49.6 in).

Coloration: There are two different color morphs, a light and a dark form. The less common dark form is dark brown to slate black all over, often with a cream throat and sometimes a reddish tinge on the lower under parts. Faint gray to buff bars can usually be seen on the tail. The more common light form is only dark on the back, with white or cream cheeks and throat. A dark malar stripe on the face and buff under parts. Which become more reddish lower down, with black streaks. The grayish tail may have reddish-brown bars, with a dark tip.

Males: Weigh 350 to 390 g (12.3 to 13.8 oz),

Females: Slightly larger than, but otherwise similar in appearance to males. Though they may be slightly browner in the dark form and have less pronounced color contrast in the light form. In both the light and dark forms, the female has pale blue facial skin rather than lemon yellow as in the male.

Young: Juveniles have golden-brown feather tips, but some of an overall dark appearance like the adult. Most juveniles resemble the light form of the adult, but are browner and paler, with barring on the under wing and more distinct bars on the flight and tail feathers.

Diet: Large insects such as dragonflies, eating it while in flight. They will also capture smaller birds, while in flight during migrating season.

[Hoax]

Gyrfalcon



The largest of all falcons, somewhere between the size of Peregrine and a buzzard in general structure. The tail is longer and the wings are boarder than that of a Peregrine.

Coloration: Being a polymorphic species, so its coloration varies greatly. The morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black", though they can be colored on a spectrum that begins with all-white birds and end with very dark ones. The white form is usually almost pure white with some markings, usually on the wings. The black form has its underside strongly spotted black, rather than finely barred as in the Peregrine. The brown form is similar to the Peregrine, but can be distinguished by the cream streaking on the nape and crown and by the absence of the malar stripe and cap. The silver form is typically two tones of grey found on the body. There is no difference between coloration in males and females, although the black morph seems to be dominantly female. The adults characteristically have yellow ceres, eye rings and legs.

Males: 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) long, weighing 805 to 1350 g (1.7 to 3lbs) and have a wingspan of 110 to 130 cm (43 to 51 in).

Females: Bulkier and larger, at 51 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan of 124 to 160 cm (49 to 64 in). Weighing 1180 to 2100 g (2.6 to 4.6lbs).

Young: Juveniles are darker than the corresponding adult. The cere, eye rings and legs are a blue color.

Diet: Small birds and mammals.

[Hoax]

Peregrine Falcon



19 subspecies of this falcon exist. A fairly large, stocky falcon, they measure 34 to 58 cm (13 to 23 in) with a wingspan of 80 to 120 cm (31 to 47 in).

Coloration: Males and females do not differ in coloration. The back and long pointed wings of the adult are usually black to slate grey with indistinct darker barring, the wingtips are black. The white to rusty under parts are barred with thin clean bands of dark brown or black. The tail, colored like the back but with thin clean bars, is long, narrow and rounded at the end with a black tip and a white contrasting sharply with the pale sides of the neck and white throat. The cere and feet are yellow, while the beak and talons are black. The upper part of the beak is notched near the tip.

Males: Weigh 580 to 750 g (1.3 to 1.7lbs).

Females: Up to 30% larger than males, weigh 925 to 1300 g (2.04 to 2.9lbs).

Young: Juveniles are much browner with streaked, rather than barred, under parts have pale bluish cere and eye ring

Diet: Exclusively medium sized birds.