Falcons | Falconidae

Valken | Halcones

The cutting edge of the upper mandible carries a sharp tooth that fits a notch in the lower: falcons 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; inside the nostril sits a small bony knob that breaks the airflow in fast dives. They make no nest but lay on a cliff ledge, in a tree hole, on a building or in a disused crow or rook nest; the eggs are buff and densely covered with red-brown markings, which separates them from the white or bluish eggs of the other diurnal raptors. The clutch is usually three to six, incubated mostly by the female while the male brings the food.