falconiform

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Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

Mongolian falconer on horseback with golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). While falcons are usually worn on the left hand, in certain areas of Asia eagles are carried on the falconer's right arm.

martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus)

Beak shapes of some falconiform birdsA New World vulture, the black vulture, Coragyps atratus, with a weak beak for carrion eating; an Old World vulture, the lappet-faced vulture, Torgos tracheliotus, with a stronger beak for tearing at larger animals; a buzzard, Buteo buteo, with a simple raptorial beak for killing and eating small mammals; a sea eagle, Haliaeetus pelagicus, with a deep narrow beak that may allow a broader field of vision; a kite, Chondrohierax uncinatus, with a strongly hooked beak for eating snails; and a falcon, Falco rusticolus, with a toothed beak for shearing and plucking feathers.

Feet shapes of some falconiform birdsThe moderately powerful foot of a lammergeier (Gypaetus); the fish-gripping foot of an osprey (Pandion), with reversible outer toe and rough spicules on the soles; the extremely powerful foot of a harpy eagle (Harpia); the generalized raptorial foot of a buzzard (Buteo); the weak foot of a New World vulture (Cathartes); the foot of a short-toed eagle (Circaetus), for gripping snakes; the foot of a bird-catching goshawk (Accipiter), with long toes and talons; and the foot of a secretary bird (Sagittarius), adapted for walking.

white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Male common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

Modifications for specialized types of flight among falconiforms.

Spot the Andean condor soaring among the Andes mountaintops and note its impressive wingspan

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falconiform: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	raptor • Falconiformes

Photos and Videos

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

Mongolian falconer on horseback with golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). While falcons are usually worn on the left hand, in certain areas of Asia eagles are carried on the falconer's right arm.

martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus)

Beak shapes of some falconiform birdsA New World vulture, the black vulture, Coragyps atratus, with a weak beak for carrion eating; an Old World vulture, the lappet-faced vulture, Torgos tracheliotus, with a stronger beak for tearing at larger animals; a buzzard, Buteo buteo, with a simple raptorial beak for killing and eating small mammals; a sea eagle, Haliaeetus pelagicus, with a deep narrow beak that may allow a broader field of vision; a kite, Chondrohierax uncinatus, with a strongly hooked beak for eating snails; and a falcon, Falco rusticolus, with a toothed beak for shearing and plucking feathers.

Feet shapes of some falconiform birdsThe moderately powerful foot of a lammergeier (Gypaetus); the fish-gripping foot of an osprey (Pandion), with reversible outer toe and rough spicules on the soles; the extremely powerful foot of a harpy eagle (Harpia); the generalized raptorial foot of a buzzard (Buteo); the weak foot of a New World vulture (Cathartes); the foot of a short-toed eagle (Circaetus), for gripping snakes; the foot of a bird-catching goshawk (Accipiter), with long toes and talons; and the foot of a secretary bird (Sagittarius), adapted for walking.

white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Male common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

Modifications for specialized types of flight among falconiforms.

Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).

Spot the Andean condor soaring among the Andes mountaintops and note its impressive wingspan

How sea eagles survive winter in Hokkaido, Japan

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Topics

Lithornis vulture What Are the Differences Between Hawks and Falcons?buzzard Aegypiinae Cathartidae condor falcon turkey vulture lammergeier passeriform charadriiform anseriform pelecaniform piciform coraciiform columbiform gruiform ciconiiform procellariiform

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Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

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vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

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Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

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List

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing on rock, side view, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

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Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) in mid-flight.

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Common, or southern, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

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