All species › Falcons
Falcons | Falconiformes
Valkachtigen | Halcones
Birds of prey with a hooked bill, a cere around the nostrils and grasping feet armed with sharp curved claws, the same tools as hawks and eagles carry; in the classification, however, this order stands apart from them, beside the parrots and the songbirds. That placement rests on molecular data rather than on appearance. They are daytime meat-eaters that locate prey by eye, with large eyes set in a proportionately large head. The female is bigger than the male, and the difference is greatest in the species that take fast prey in the air. The order has a single family, the falcons and caracaras. In the region American Kestrel is a common resident on many islands. Merlin and Peregrine Falcon occur mainly as migrants and winter visitors from North America, hunting along coasts and wetlands. Crested Caracara lives on Cuba, Trinidad, Aruba and Curaçao, and Bat Falcon on Trinidad and Tobago.
Families in this order
- Falcons | Falconidae8 speciesIn the true falcons the cutting edge of the upper mandible carries a sharp tooth that fits a notch in the lower: they kill with a bite through the neck, not with the crushing power of the foot as hawks do. The wing is long and pointed and the beat stiff and rowing. In the region American Kestrel is the smallest and most widespread species; it hunts lizards, insects and small birds from a lookout perch. Merlin and Peregrine Falcon occur mainly as migrants and winter visitors from North America and hunt shorebirds and doves. On Trinidad and Tobago Bat Falcon hunts bats and birds at dusk. Crested Caracara is different: it spends much time walking on the ground, also takes carrion and builds a stick nest. The true falcons make no nest but lay on a ledge, in a cavity or in an old nest. The eggs are buff and densely covered with red-brown markings.