falconiform

falconiform
/fawl koh"neuh fawrm', fal-, faw koh"-, fawl"keuh neuh-, fal"-, faw"keuh-/, adj.
of, pertaining to, or belonging to the order Falconiformes, comprising the vultures, hawks, eagles, ospreys, falcons, caracaras, etc.
[ < NL falconiformes; see FALCON, -IFORMES]

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▪ bird order
Introduction
 any of the group of swift, graceful birds known for their predatory skill as raptors (raptor). Included are eagles, condors, buzzards, kites, caracaras, ospreys, harriers, accipiters, vultures, secretary birds, falcons, hawks, and bateleurs.

      Although seldom abundant, falconiforms are widespread, living in diverse habitats virtually worldwide. They are often large, conspicuous birds that attract attention from smaller birds. Falconiforms are all active during the day, though several fly at dawn and dusk. With few exceptions they feed on the flesh of other animals, taken alive or found dead. Some, especially those at high latitudes, migrate, but most do not.

 The low population density of most species indicates that their economic importance is usually exaggerated. Some, especially large eagles, may prey upon animals kept by people, such as pets or livestock. More significantly, however, falconiforms feed upon various pests of human crops (e.g., hares, rodents, game birds, locusts) and eat otherwise noxious carrion. Because of their intelligence and hunting ability, some falcons and hawks are trained for the sport of falconry.

General features
  Falconiforms vary from tiny falconets (Microhierax), weighing 35 grams (1.2 ounces) or less, to huge vultures and eagles with weights of up to 14 kg (31 pounds)—the latter certainly being the most formidable of avian predators. Many species range from 0.4–2.0 kg (0.9 to 4.4 pounds) in weight. Females are normally 20–100 percent larger than males, especially among the bird-killing falcons and accipiters. In vultures, however, the male is normally 10–15 percent larger.

 Falconiform wings, tail, and feet vary according to hunting methods, type of prey, and habitat. Carrion-eating vultures have broad, soaring wings and weak feet; speedy falcons have bullet-shaped bodies and long, pointed wings; maneuverable forest-living species—such as accipiters, some eagles, and forest falcons—have short rounded wings and long rounded or graduated tails. The beak is always hooked and is used to tear flesh from prey held in the feet; it may be further modified for special types of food, such as snails or bone marrow. The feet (foot), which are the primary means of killing prey, are exceptionally strong, equipped with long, curved talons, except in the vultures, which feed on carrion. Sight and hearing are highly developed, but the sense of smell is usually poor or absent.

 Falconiforms are found from Arctic to equatorial latitudes, in habitats ranging from stark desert to tropical forest (tropical rainforest) and coastal shores (boundary ecosystem). They are most common and most varied in warm and relatively open country, though many, especially in South America, have adapted to forest life. They are never abundant except where gregarious species may roost or feed together. One pair of birds per 15 square km (6 square miles) or more is usual. Their numbers are not always dependent on the density of food animals, as raptor populations are sometimes limited by competition among themselves for territory in places where food is abundant.

Natural history

Behaviour
 Falconiforms hunt by sight in daylight and normally roost on a perch, a tree branch, a rock ledge, or occasionally (in the case of harriers) on the ground in long grass. A few, including some falcons and sparrowhawks, are active at twilight; in fact, the bat hawk (Machaerhamphus alcinus) catches all its food in about half an hour at dusk. The only species actually recorded feeding at night are certain Indian vultures, which will feed on tiger kills on moonlit nights. Most raptors sleep all night, with head buried in the feathers of the back or hunched upon the shoulders.

      Activity may begin soon after dawn with short “warming-up” flights, serious hunting beginning later. Some accipiters commence hunting at daybreak, when their avian prey is most active. Large, heavy species, however, do not usually start hunting or foraging until some time after dawn. Large vultures are unable to fly until updrafts are generated by thermal activity, but smaller species are able to fly soon after dawn. Certain specialized types with flapping flight, such as harriers, can fly easily at any time of the day. Bateleurs get on the wing early and fly most of the day, travelling perhaps 300–500 km (200–300 miles) on most days; however, very large species such as eagles and vultures probably fly for no more than four to six hours a day.

      Before the day's flight, a raptor usually preens, casts, and defecates. Castings are indigestible balls of fur, feathers, insect parts, etc., that are regurgitated. Preening is performed mainly with the bill, but falconiforms also scratch with their formidable talons. They frequently “rouse,” fluffing out and shaking all of their feathers.

 Many falconiforms hunt daily, others every few days, feeding in the interim on the remains of their kills. In warm climates, hunting time may be only one to two hours; in temperate winters, when prey is scarce, it can occupy five to seven hours. When not hunting, falconiforms loaf on perches or soar, sometimes at great height. Vultures or eagles soaring very high are not hunting, especially when their crops are full. Killing frequency depends on appetite and the size of the animal killed: a kestrel consumes many grasshoppers per day, whereas a crowned eagle takes one mammal of almost 4 kg (9 pounds) every three to four days. The bird's appetite and crop capacity permit ingestion of several days' rations at a meal, and larger species can go without food for long periods without ill effect. With rare recorded exceptions, falconiforms will not hunt unless hungry and do not kill wantonly. Many species hunt from perches, flying from one to another. Others hunt on the wing, soaring or hovering at up to 100 metres (330 feet) above the ground or water.

 One species, the secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius), is mainly terrestrial, and several others (chanting goshawks, honey buzzards, and the spotted eagle) walk about on the ground. The honey buzzard digs out wasps' nests. The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) hurls stones with its beak to break ostrich eggs.

      Toward evening a falconiform may return to a regular roosting place or may settle for the night wherever it finds itself. Vultures often return nightly up to 100 miles to regular roosting cliffs or trees. In many less-active species, the roost is in the same general area as the nest. Members of a pair separated all day may rejoin at roosting time, and gregarious species (vultures, kites, and some others, such as the red-footed falcon) are at their most gregarious at roosting sites. Prior to settling into sleep, the bird usually preens again. Finally, when night comes, the raptor falls asleep on its perch and remains thus without moving until the following morning. If disturbed, however, it can fly quickly enough to save itself but will not travel any distance.

 All falconiforms fly well, some excellently. Few hunt on the ground, but all can walk or hop. With the exception of the secretary bird, flight is the most important method of locomotion. Modes of flight include flapping, gliding, soaring, or diving (stooping) and are used to locate and kill prey, move from perch to perch, or migrate. Adaptations for swift or slow flight, mainly associated with habitat or type of prey, are varied.

Flapping, soaring, and diving
      All species can use flapping flight, but it is laboured in heavy species (vultures, condors). Most use it only to get under way or to move from perch to perch, thereafter gliding, hovering, or soaring. Harriers sustain flapping flight, interspersed with short glides, as they hunt small animals in open, grassy country. This also assists them in migrating across open water, a practice usually avoided by soaring species because of the lack of thermal updrafts. Accipiters accelerate in pursuit by rapid flapping flight, and many other species travel short distances by flapping alternated with gliding, especially when air currents are lacking.

 All the large species are adapted for soaring flight, and even accipiters, swift falcons, and the secretary bird can soar well. A typical soaring wing is rather long and moderately broad—i.e., of low aspect ratio. High-aspect-ratio wings (long and extremely narrow), found in seabirds, would presumably be inconvenient to falconiforms, which often require maneuverability in tight spaces. The wing usually has the outer four to six primary flight feathers more or less emarginated, forming slots at the spread wing tip that reduce turbulence. The slots also permit each feather to bend as an individual airfoil under a differential load, thereby increasing lift. Such a wing is typical of eagles, buzzards, vultures, and kites. In a few species (Indian black eagle, African harrier hawk), the primaries are long, soft, slightly emarginated, and flexible, probably associated with slow flight.

      The ability to soar and circle in thermals is controlled by wing loading (the ratio of weight to wing area). The higher the wing loading, the larger the turning circle and the larger the thermal “bubble” required for soaring to gain height. Smaller species (e.g., the black kite), with low wing loadings, can utilize smaller thermals than can heavy vultures. Wing loading increases proportionately with weight as the cube of body size, while wing area increases as the square. The general rule is varied by specific adaptations. Some species ( lammergeier, harriers) have much lower wing loadings than others of similar weight and have more buoyant, easy flight. In soaring flight, forward velocity is attained by gliding, with the aid of gravity; the bird mounts on rising air. Increasing the angle of glide increases speed until, in a vertical dive (falcons), speeds of 320 km (200 miles) per hour are attained. Some species ( bateleur, lammergeier) are specialized for gliding, almost without wing flapping. Bateleurs glide at an airspeed of 55–85 km (34–53 miles) per hour for much of the day; they have long wings and very short tails, steering by sideways tilting, or canting. Lammergeiers glide rather slowly, assisted by long, diamond-shaped tails.

 Falcons, especially bird-killers such as the peregrine (peregrine falcon) and lanner falcons, gyrfalcon, etc., have heavy, bullet-shaped bodies and long, pointed wings; their high wing loading provides high diving speed. They often attack in the air and in a dive can overtake species that would easily evade them in straight flapping flight. Few eagles are nearly as swift, but many combine distinguished soaring and gliding ability with swiftness and agility in attacks upon prey.

Walking and hopping
      On the ground falconiforms progress by walking or hopping; in especially large vultures, hopping is elaborated into bounding threat displays. On a branch they move sideways by sidling or by walking “hand over hand” (e.g., vulturine fish eagle, harrier hawk). On the ground eagles walk slowly and deliberately. African harrier hawks and South American crane hawks have long, slim legs that can bend somewhat backward at the tarsal joint, permitting the attainment of peculiar positions and enabling the birds to probe cavities.

 The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is the only primarily terrestrial species. It flies only to move from place to place or in display but nevertheless has been seen soaring at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). It walks with a rapid, steady pace, head jerking to and fro, varying this regular progress with bouts of quick stamping steps to flush possible prey. It has short toes (like the gruiform bustards) and long, cranelike legs suited for rapid walking over long distances. It roosts in trees but descends to the ground to hunt soon after daybreak.

Life history
 Large falconiforms are among the longest-lived birds, as shown both by records in captivity and by the slow breeding rates observed in the wild. Where not persecuted, populations of large falconiforms are remarkably stable. Breeding rates correlate with average life spans; i.e., longer-lived species breed slower than shorter-lived ones.

      The falconiform life cycle consists of the four stages described below, each of which varies mainly according to size—the larger the bird, the longer the stage. Latitude also affects these periods, with longer fledging periods for equatorial species as compared with temperate species of similar size.

The fledging period
      The fledging period (from hatching to first flight) varies from about three weeks in small accipiters (accipiter) to four months in large eagles and vultures and slightly longer still in condors. In this stage the downy nestling develops to adult size, during which time the bird may become up to 40 times heavier. The young must be fed at first, but before its first flight it learns to tear up prey brought by the parents. Fledging periods are comparatively longer in the tropics.

The postfledging period
      During the postfledging period, the young remain near the nest and food is brought by the parents. This period ends when the young become independent, often apparently of their own accord—not, as in some other birds, in response to increasing parental aggression. During postfledging the birds grow no larger, but the flight quills harden. These immature birds are not strong fliers until three to eight weeks after the first flight. This phase varies from 1 to 11 months or even more, again mainly according to size but also showing specific variation. In the crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus), for example, the postfledging period is 9 to 11 months, but in the related martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) it is much shorter.

The period as a juvenile
      The period as a juvenile, an independent but sexually immature form, is distinguished by various immature and subadult plumages, which are often very different from those of the adult. The young raptor flies about, migrates if necessary, kills its own prey, and behaves like an adult except for the fact that it cannot breed. This period varies from about nine months in small species that mature in their first year ( sparrowhawks, kestrels, and some kites) to four or more years in large eagles and up to seven years in condors. It is usually a period of heavy mortality, particularly in migrant species of temperate climates.

The breeding adult
      The breeding adult life is characterized by mating, nesting, and the rearing of young. Most adults pair. The duration of the breeding phase has been rarely recorded for wild individuals, but a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) bred on the Sun Life Building in Montreal, Quebec, for 16 years. Two female crowned eagles bred for 9 and 8 years and one male for 13 years.

      Life spans of wild raptors can be calculated from leg-banding (ringing) records, from observed changes of mate, and from the percentage of immature individuals in the population, especially if different ages are recognizable.

      Recoveries of banded birds indicate that 50–75 percent of young raptors die before sexual maturity. The smaller falcons and accipiters apparently average less than three years in total life span, but some individuals may attain 10 to 12 years. Larger species live longer. ospreys and buteos may average 8 to 10 years but have higher mortality rates (75–80 percent in the first year). Life spans of more than 20 years have been recorded from both groups.

      In certain large falconiforms, differences in plumage owing to age and individual variation allow an observer to recognize individual birds. Since large eagles mate for life, it may be assumed that a change of mates indicates that one of the pair is dead. In crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) such changes have been observed to occur every 6 to 7 years, giving a mean adult life of 12–14 years or 16–18 years when the four years prior to maturity are included.

      In many species immature birds are easily distinguished from adults, allowing an estimate of the average age of adults. Immatures make up about 30 percent of the population in the bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus), 18 percent in the lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), and 16–25 percent in the African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer). Presuming 75 percent loss during the period of immaturity and the acquisition of adult plumage at 7, 5, and 4 years, respectively, the mean adult life span in these species may be estimated at 23, 27, and 18–24 years.

      Such statistical methods provide, at best, an informed estimate; the potential life span is rarely, if ever, attained in the wild state. In captivity many large raptors live for over 30 years, eagles and vultures for 40–50 years. A bateleur at 55 is the oldest acceptable record; records of 60 or more years are poorly documented.

Reproduction
 Many falconiforms pair for life; others, notably migrant species, may pair anew each year. Occasionally, immatures pair with adults, but usually only sexually mature individuals attempt to breed. Immatures, however, often perform typical display movements, and a pair bond may be formed between an adult and an immature, though the latter may be replaced by an adult if one should appear.

      The breeding pattern follows the usual sequence of nuptial display, nest building, incubation, fledging period, and postfledging period. The length of the breeding period varies from about 3 months in the smallest species to over 15 months in condors, crowned eagles, and probably harpy eagles. No species regularly produces two broods in a season, but second broods have been recorded, even in some large species. Some nomadic species, such as the elanine kites, may breed more often in response to, for instance, high local rodent populations.

      Nuptial displays (display behaviour) are often spectacular, sometimes inconspicuous. The common forms are: calling from a perch; calling from soaring flight; undulating flight, diving, and swooping up, often with loud calling; mutual displays, in which the male dives with lowered feet at the female, who turns over and raises her claws to his; and, rarely, cartwheeling, in which the pair lock feet and descend in whirling flight—e.g., some eagles and kites. Most species perform several types of display, but species inhabiting woodland or forest display more often and more vociferously than related species of open country.

      Most species build nests (nest) on trees, ledges of cliffs, or, rarely, on the ground. All members of the family Accipitridae, as well as caracaras, the osprey, and the secretary bird, construct nests, usually of sticks. The Cathartidae and the remaining Falconidae (forest falcons, falconets, and true falcons) do not make nests but use a hollow tree, another bird's nest, or a scrape on a ledge. Constructed nests vary from small structures of twigs and vines made by cuckoo-hawks (Aviceda) to enormous, annually augmented stick-piles of many eagles. Small species usually build a new nest annually; large species tend to return to and repair an old nest. Imminent occupation is usually indicated by fresh green material, which continues to be added until late in the fledging period but does not necessarily mean that eggs will be laid. The same site, but not always the same nest or ledge, may be occupied for several years, generations, or centuries. Some large eagles use the same nest for years, others haphazardly use several alternates.

      Many species lay only one egg; few lay more than four. The largest clutches are laid by small falcons and accipiters of temperate latitudes and by ground-nesting harriers. Clutches of related species are smaller in the tropics than in high latitudes. The eggs are laid at two- to four-day intervals. Falconiform eggs are rather large for the size of the birds and are usually rounded white or greenish ovals. The eggs are more or less heavily spotted, occasionally completely covered with brown or red-brown pigment. Among the family Accipitridae, the secretary bird, and the osprey, the inside of the shell is green or blue-green; in Falconidae it is buff or reddish. incubation, usually by the female alone (the male sometimes takes a share), occupies from 28 days in small falcons to 50 days or more in large vultures. Buzzards (Buteo) incubate for 30–35 days, though some are larger than small eagles that have incubation periods of 45 days.

      The eggs hatch in the order in which they were laid. By the time the last egg has hatched, the first-hatched chick may have tripled its weight and may kill its sibling, either directly or through competition for food. Newly hatched chicks are covered in down, which is later replaced by a thicker, woollier coat; at this stage parental brooding is reduced by day. Feathers erupt during the fledging period and almost cover the nestling at midpoint. At this stage most young learn to tear up their own prey.

      Parental attention is steadily reduced, from continuous brooding day and night to leaving the feathered young entirely alone except for brief feeding visits. The young make their first flights unaided by parental coaxing. The adult roles are usually clear-cut. In the early fledging period, the male kills for himself, his mate, and the brood by doubling or tripling his previous killing rate. When partly feathered young can tear up their prey, the female no longer stays near the nest but hunts and thereafter brings more prey than the male. After their first flight, the young remain near the nest for several weeks or months. They are provided with food by the parents but may also learn to kill. The longest postfledging periods known are in crowned eagles and condors; in the crowned eagle the young remain dependent for 9 to 11 months, and this species normally breeds only every second year.

      Especially in large species, breeding does not necessarily occur annually. The number of young reared per pair per year varies from 2.5 to 3 in small falcons and sparrowhawks of temperate climates to 0.4 or even less in some tropical eagles and vultures. Breeding success, like clutch size, tends to be lower in related species in the tropics than in temperate zones. Low breeding success may fluctuate with adverse winters, poor food supplies, or even territorial behaviour in crowded habitats.

Ecology
      Falconiforms prey on small animals or eat carrion. The palm-nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) of Africa is the exception; it feeds mainly on oil palm fruits.

      Food supplies exert a general influence over populations, but it also seems that when food is superabundant the population does not rise proportionately. Among golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in Scotland, the home range of a pair is about 4,400 ha (11,000 acres), irrespective of food abundance. A breeding pair of raptors apparently maintains a territory (territorial behaviour) containing much more food than it can possibly utilize. In some cases such home ranges are maintained by aggressive behaviour; in others the precise method is obscure. In colonial vultures no home range is maintained, and the only defended territory is around the nest.

      From a combination of factors, a reasonably accurate estimate of the minimum daily food required for a raptor can be made. The amount of kills wasted (varying from less than 5 to 20 percent by weight, according to the type of prey taken) is added to the minimum daily food demand in order to determine the amount that must be killed to maintain a pair and their young for one year. For example, if a falconiform weighs 1,200 grams (42 ounces), has a food requirement of 8 percent of bodyweight, eats 96 grams (3 ounces) a day and 36 kg (79 pounds) each year, and feeds on birds (involving waste of about 15 percent of all kills), then it must kill 41 kg (90 pounds) of prey each year to fulfill its needs.

      Individuals of one species do not usually tolerate others of the same species in their home breeding range. The same area, however, may support several species that prefer different types of prey and so do not compete with one another. In a single area of varied habitat, up to 20 different species may be found (even more with migrants), exerting a much greater and more complicated, but still broadly quantifiable, pressure on populations of available prey. Closely related groups may show ecological separation. For example, some African vultures feed in groups upon the soft flesh and intestines of prey, while others tear at sinews and hide or snatch meat from other species. Smaller vultures pick up scraps or use their slender beaks to reach cavities inaccessible to birds with heavier beaks. All of these birds may feed together at the same carcass without competing for food, though individuals of each species maintain a dominance hierarchy by aggressive movements.

      In the Arctic only the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) does not regularly migrate but subsists on wintering ptarmigan. In summer several other falconiforms arrive, but so do many species of prey (bird of prey); in addition, lemmings multiply, further increasing food supplies. In African savannas and southern Indian rice fields, resident falconiform populations are greatly augmented in winter by migrant populations of buzzards, kites, harriers, and small falcons. This sharply increases the total predator pressure on prey populations, but it does not appear that this influx of migrants has any adverse effect on the resident populations, which may be breeding while the migrants are present. In most cases it appears that falconiforms have a slight or negligible effect on prey populations. The annual needs of resident species may vary from 1/20 to 1/1,000 or even less of available prey. In migrant winter populations, local effects may be much greater than in resident breeding populations. The availability or visibility of the prey also plays a part. Among European sparrowhawks, conspicuous or gregarious birds of open ground are more often killed than inconspicuous skulking species.

Importance to humans
 Most falconiforms are directly beneficial—feeding on pests or carrion—or neutral—feeding on animals and birds that do not directly affect humans. Entirely beneficial species include vultures, elanine kites, kestrels and other small insectivorous falcons, most buzzards (Buteo and related species), and many small eagles. Neutral species, such as snake eagles and chanting goshawks, can safely be ignored.

      A few species, usually large and uncommon, may prey on domestic stock or poultry or on game birds or fish. However, because of ignorance and unreasoning prejudice, it is not uncommon for all species in an area to be indiscriminately killed, even rendered locally extinct. Detailed quantitative studies invariably have shown that the harm done to human interests by any falconiform has been grossly exaggerated; even the supposedly harmful species often kill other potentially harmful species—e.g., crows, rats, weasels. The predation effect of any species is relatively small in relation to the total number of potential prey in any home range. Moreover, even in potentially harmful species, few individuals of potential or actual interest to humans are taken. In North America and Australia, where large eagles were destroyed on a greater scale than elsewhere, persecution was not based on even rudimentary assessment of the eagles' diet and appetite. Objective analysis of predation habits indicates that protection is deserved except where extensive damage can be proved. Unfortunately, extensive damage is frequently claimed without proof; for instance, in the southwestern United States, the golden eagle has been persecuted for alleged damage to sheep, a claim improbable in any event and impossible on the scale claimed. Real damage to human interests is greatest under poor livestock-management conditions—for instance, when underfed poultry are on free range or weak lambs live on overgrazed pasture. In rare cases, such as where hatchery trout or reared pheasants are unnaturally concentrated, individual hawks or eagles may have to be controlled.

 Falconiforms need no protection except from man. Conservation problems, therefore, entail conserving raptors living in or passing through inhabited areas. Overcollecting for zoos and museums and for falconry has affected some species, as has collection of specimens or eggs of threatened species for commercial purposes. In a few instances, chiefly of island species such as the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), control of such activity is urgent. Preservation efforts must include the control of habitat destruction; of active persecution by shooting, trapping, poisoning, and collecting of eggs of threatened species; and of the widespread toxic effects of persistent agricultural and industrial chemicals.

      Agriculture, in and of itself, destroys some types of habitat, especially forests, but creates others in the process. In Africa, for instance, some forest falconiforms may be eliminated, but much larger populations of adaptable species such as black kites, hooded vultures, and long-crested eagles may move in. The effect of agriculture is not always detrimental, especially when a mixed landscape of forest and open country results. Before the advent of pesticides (pesticide) such as DDT and dieldrin, the peregrine was most numerous in Britain in habitats close to agricultural areas with a mixed landscape of forest and open country and high populations of avian prey. A sparse population of rural cultivators may have no appreciable effect on a mixed population of falconiforms over long periods of time.

      Toxic agricultural chemicals are the most difficult of conservation problems because of their subtle and widespread effects (affecting even migrant populations of some hawks that breed in uninhabited areas) and the benefits they confer on human food supplies. The best hope, other than the development of less-toxic substances, is an understanding of the probably serious overall effect long-lasting poisons have on the whole environment. If, as appears likely, chemicals will eventually affect humans adversely, control of these chemicals will follow, and the falconiforms will benefit indirectly.

Form and function
      The main distinguishing characters of falconiforms are the hooked beak, used for tearing flesh; taloned feet, used for piercing, grasping, and killing prey; strong feather quills that can withstand the aerodynamic forces of rapid flight; and large eyes, with very acute vision.

Feet (foot) and beak
 These appendages comprise the main killing and feeding adaptations that distinguish birds of prey. The exact structure of the beak varies according to the prey eaten. Falcons (family Falconidae) and some insectivorous kites have notches or toothlike structures on the cutting edge of the beak. In falcons these assist in breaking the necks of prey, but their purpose in kites is obscure. In Old World vultures the bills vary, permitting ecological separation while feeding on the same carcasses.

 Prey is normally killed with the feet. Three toes are directed forward, one behind. The hind toe is usually heavier- and longer-taloned than the others. In the osprey the outer toe is reversible for more-effective handling of fish. Fish-eating falconiforms have sharp spicules on the soles of the toes to grasp their slippery prey. The feet may vary from long, slim-toed, and needle-taloned (for killing birds, as in goshawks) to short and thick-toed (for grasping snakes, as in short-toed eagles) or heavy-toed with thick, strong talons (capable of paralyzing medium-sized mammals, as in harpy eagles). In Old and New World vultures, which seldom or never kill, the feet lack long sharp talons.

plumage and molt
      Falconiforms are bulky, heavily feathered (feather) birds, lightweight in relation to their apparent size. The first plumage is usually white or gray down, called the prepennae. The second down, or preplumulae, grows through the first after days or weeks and is itself superseded by feathers erupting from the prepennae follicles. The latest feathers to develop fully are wing and tail quills, which are large, strong, and often specially adapted.

      The immature plumage, presumably representing a primitive type, usually differs markedly from the adult. Adult appearance is acquired by a series of molts with, in large species, several intermediate or subadult stages. Immature birds usually are brown and streaked or spotted; adults may be more brightly coloured. The sexes usually are alike in plumage. In some island species—e.g., the Madagascar cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda madagascariensis)—the plumage type found in the immature persists in adult life.

      Plumage is replaced by a molt lasting four months to several years. This process is slower and more irregular in larger species. Wing quills are molted in definite sequence. In many accipiters and related species, molt begins with the innermost primary feather (number 1) and proceeds in regular sequence to the outermost (number 10). In falcons it begins at primary feather 4 and proceeds both outward and inward. Large species tend to replace quills irregularly, perhaps because their greater wing loading would make the lack of several adjacent quills disadvantageous.

Vision, hearing, and smell
      The eyes (eye, human) move little in their sockets. To see behind itself, therefore, a falconiform must rotate its head. Forward vision is binocular through 35–50° of arc. The proverbially high resolving power of hawks' eyes depends partly on a large image being focused on the retina and partly on the concentration of rods and cones. Unlike human eyes, there are two areas of high visual acuity (foveae) instead of one. One fovea is laterally directed for monocular vision, the other forward for binocular vision. In each, the visual cells are still more concentrated, providing resolving power up to eight times that of the human eye. There is a screenlike pecten, which may cast a lattice-like shadow on the retina, permitting good shape perception of moving objects. The iris in many adults is yellow, red, or orange.

      Hearing is good but not especially acute. The ear apertures are large, and in harriers and forest falcons they are above average size and surrounded by specially modified feathers, forming partial facial ruffs. The forest falcons live in dense woodlands and are seminocturnal, and the harriers hunt small mammals in long grass—situations where unusually acute hearing would be advantageous.

      Except in the New World vultures, which occasionally use their sense of smell to locate food, the olfactory chambers are poorly developed. The sense of smell is normally rudimentary and much less important than sight.

evolution and paleontology
      Falconiforms have no obvious evolutionary links with other birds. Currently they are placed between ducks, on the one hand, and game birds on the other; but they bear no clear resemblance to either, while fossil evidence does not indicate intermediate links. The most obvious physical specializations of falconiforms—the cutting, tearing bill and taloned feet—do not indicate close relationships with owls (order Strigiformes (strigiform)) but are the result of similar trends in evolution. Some anatomical work, however, indicates that owls and the family Falconidae may be related.

      Few fossils of falconiforms have been found, and those that have may require reassessment. A generalized raptor is known from 50 to 35 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch. The oldest raptorial bird (Lithornis) known is from the late Paleocene Epoch (57.9 to 54.8 million years ago) and may have been a New World vulture (family Cathartidae). Cathartids may have evolved in the Old World, dying out there and surviving only in the New World. Fossil New World vultures include a large terrestrial species (Neocathartes grallator) and a huge vulture (Teratornis merriami) from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in California. Because of their apparently ancient origin, cathartids may be regarded as primitive survivors.

      Among present-day species, convergent evolution (community ecology) has led to the development of similar traits among different falconiforms. For instance, in Australia, buzzards (Buteo) are absent, but certain large kites have evolved to fit this ecological niche. In South America the buzzardlike harpy eagle represents a climax of one line of evolution filled in the Old World by large booted eagles such as crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus). There has been significant specialization for particular functions in unrelated species; for instance, in the bullet shape of falcons, in the spiculed feet of ospreys and certain eagles, and, perhaps most striking, in the auditory specializations shared by harriers and forest falcons.

Classification

Distinguishing taxonomic features
      The main features of falconiforms include the hooked “raptorial” bill; the basal cere, or bare skin, covering the nostrils; the powerful feet with hooked claws; sustained powers of flight and carnivorous habits; and the difference in size between the sexes. Some suborders or families have additional characteristics: the New World vultures (family Cathartidae) have pervious nostrils (i.e., incomplete partition between nostrils) and a rudimentary hind toe; the osprey, a reversible outer toe; the secretary bird, long legs with short, blunt toes; and Falconidae, toothed beak, sharply pointed wings, and a noncentrifugal wing molt. On the basis of inside eggshell colour, the order may be divided into three rather distinct groupings, or suborders: the Cathartae, the Accipitres (including the secretary bird and osprey), and the Falcones.

Critical appraisal
      Debate about the classification of falconiform birds centres on two topics: New World vultures (family Cathartidae) as ciconiiforms related to the storks (family Ciconiidae) and the relationship of falcons (Falconidae) to various other orders. Behavioral, morphological, and initial genetic evidence once suggested that New World vultures were related to storks, but recent analyses of morphological and biochemical data challenge this proposition. Proposals that falcons are related to groups ranging from parrots (Psittaciformes (psittaciform)) to owls (Strigiformes) and cuckoos (Cuculiformes (cuculiform)) continue to surface, but reclassification has not been warranted. Like the New World vultures, the secretary bird may be a ciconiiform. Resemblance of the secretary bird to the South American seriema (family Cariamidae) is likely a case of convergence.

Annotated classification
Order Falconiformes (diurnal raptors)
 309 species in 5 families found virtually worldwide; 7 species of the family Cathartidae often classified as ciconiiforms.
      Family Accipitridae ( accipiters, kites, hawks, buzzards, harriers, eagles, Old World vulture (vulture)s, sparrowhawks)
 236 species in 64 genera; some subgroups, e.g., Old World vultures, confined to Europe, Asia, and Africa; small to very large (100 grams to about 10 kg); inside surface of eggshell green; strong hooked talons in all but Old World vultures; squirt droppings; build their own nests.

      Family Falconidae ( caracaras, milvagos, forest falcons, falconets, merlin, true falcons)
 64 species in 11 genera; some genera confined to New World, and others (Microhierax) only Asian; very small to medium-sized (35–1,800 grams); resemble Accipitridae in having hooked beaks, talons, sexual dimorphism, etc.; differ in molt sequence, some anatomical characters, behaviour (droppings fall below perch, head bobbing in some, in all but caracaras no nest is made); inside surface of eggshell reddish.

      Family Cathartidae (New World vulture (vulture)s)
 7 species of the Western Hemisphere; perforated nasal septum, rudimentary hind toe, large olfactory chambers; large or medium-sized (1.5–1 kg; wingspan 1.2–3.2 metres); do not build nests; inside surface of eggshell yellowish.

      Family Pandionidae ( osprey)
 1 species, nearly worldwide; large, resembles some kites in structure of the sternum and absence of bony eye shield; reversible outer toe, talons rounded not grooved; inside surface of eggshell green; squirt droppings; build their own nests.

      Family Sagittariidae ( secretary bird)
 1 species of central Africa; terrestrial, long-legged, short-toed; nesting and display resemble Accipitridae; inside surface of eggshell green, but certain other characters indicate affinity with South American gruiforms; usually accepted as falconiform but may not be.

Leslie Hilton Brown Frank Gill

Additional Reading
James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie, Raptors of the World (2001), contains extensive text and graphics on the natural history of every species of the order Falconiformes. Brian K. Wheeler, Raptors of Eastern North America (2003) and Raptors of Western North America (2003), are heavily illustrated works detailing aspects of identification and distribution as well as natural history. Scott Weidensaul, Raptors: The Birds of Prey (1996), is not a taxonomic guide but a compendium of information ranging from natural history and evolution to conservation issues, raptor lore, and falconry. Nick Fox, Understanding the Bird of Prey (1995), addresses the training, care, and breeding of captive falconiforms. Discovery Communications, The Ultimate Guide: Birds of Prey (1997, reissued 1999), is a video documentary examining the anatomy, physiology, and evolution of falconiforms. Ed.

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Universalium. 2010.

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