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{{Short description|Birds of prey in the genus Falco}}
{{Other uses|Falcon (disambiguation)|Falcons (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Miocene]] to present
| image = Brown-Falcon,-Vic,-3.1.2008.jpg
| image_caption = [[Brown falcon]] (''Falco berigora'') in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia
| taxon = Falco
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| type_species = ''[[Eurasian hobby|Falco subbuteo]]''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=35 |title= Falconidae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-25}}</ref>
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 38; see [[#Species|text]].
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
*''Aesalon''<!-- this might have been given twice: Kaup 1829 and Morris 1837 -->
*''Lithofalco''<!-- this might have been given twice: Reider & Hahn 1835 and Bonaparte (unjustified emendation: 1840) -->
*''Tinnunculus'' <small>Linnaeus, 1766</small>
*''Hierofalco'' <small>[[Frédéric Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1817</small>
*''Cerchneis'' <small>Boie, 1826</small>
*''Hypotriorchis'' <small>Boie, 1826</small>
*''Rhynchodon'' <small>Nitzsch, 1829</small>
*''Ieracidea'' <small>[[John Gould|Gould]], 1838</small>
*''Hieracidea'' <small>[[Hugh Edwin Strickland|Strickland]], 1841 [[Emendation (zoology)|(unjustified emendation]]<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History |series=Series 1 |volume=6 |date=February 1841 |issue=39 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nnc1.1001656368?urlappend=%3Bseq=450 |access-date=2024-02-08 |via=HathiTrust |language=en |title=XLVIII. Commentary on Mr. G R. Gray's 'Genera of Birds.' 8vo. London, 1840. |first=H.E. |last=Strickland |page=416|hdl=2027/nnc1.1001656368?urlappend=%3Bseq=450 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |website=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species |title=Hieracidea Strickland, 1841 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1507473 |access-date=2024-02-08 |date=2021-04-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102124602/http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1507473 |archive-date=2022-01-02 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-06 |title=FALNOV.pdf |url=https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/FALNOV.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208234459/https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/sites/all/files/FALNOV.pdf |archive-date=2024-02-08 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=New Zealand Birds Online |publication-date=2020-09-03}} (Text extracted from {{Cite book |last1=Gill |first1=B.J. |last2=Bell |first2=B.D. |last3=Chambers |first3=G.K. |last4=Medway |first4=D.G. |last5=Palma |first5=R.L. |last6=Scofield |first6=R.P. |last7=Tennyson |first7=A.J.D. |last8=Worthy |first8=T.H. |date=2010 |title=Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica |edition=4th |publisher=Wellington, Te Papa Press and Ornithological Society of New Zealand |pages=174–176}})</ref></small>
*''Gennaia'' <small>[[Johann Jakob Kaup|Kaup]], 1847</small>
*''Jerafalco'' <small>[[Johann Jakob Kaup|Kaup]], 1850 (unjustified emendation)</small>
*''Harpe'' <small>Bonaparte, 1855 (''non'' Lacepède 1802<!-- possibly 1803 - print vs publication date? -->:<ref>{{Cite book |title=The birds of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalog of the higher groups, genera, species, and subspecies of birds known to occur in North America, ... |date=1950 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435029597671?urlappend=%3Bseq=633 |access-date=2024-02-09 |via=HathiTrust |language=en |page=615 |series=Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum Bulletin, no. 50, part 11 |first=Herbert |last=Friedmann |publisher=United States Government Printing Office|hdl=2027/osu.32435029597671?urlappend=%3Bseq=633 }}</ref> [[Homonym (biology)|preoccupied]])</small><!-- possibly also Harpe Merrem 1818, which would be preoccupied the same way as the name by Bonaparte.-->
*''Dissodectes'' <small>[[Philip Sclater|Sclater]], 1864</small>
*''Harpa'' <small>[[Richard Bowdler Sharpe|Sharpe]], 1874 (''non'' Pallas 1774: preoccupied)</small>
*''Gennadas'' <small>Heine & [[Anton Reichenow|Reichenow]], 1890<ref>{{Cite book |title=List of generic terms proposed for birds during the years 1890 to 1900, inclusive, to which are added names omitted by Waterhouse in his "Index generum avium," ... |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924090189725?urlappend=%3Bseq=25 |access-date=2024-02-09 |via=HathiTrust |language=en |page=685 |issue=1267 |volume=24 |series=Proceedings of the United States National Museum |publisher=Smithsonian Institution / Government Printing Office |location=Washington |date=1902 |first=Charles W. |last=Richmond| hdl=2027/coo.31924090189725?urlappend=%3Bseq=25 }}</ref> (unjustified emendation)</small>
*''Nesierax'' <small>[[Harry Church Oberholser|Oberholser]], 1899</small>
*''Nesihierax'' <small>Dubois, 1902 (unjustified emendation)</small>
*''Asturaetus'' <small>[[Charles Walter De Vis|De Vis]], 1906 (non ''Asturaetos'' Brehm 1855: preoccupied)</small>
*''Plioaetus'' <small>[[Charles Wallace Richmond|Richmond]], 1908</small>
*''Sushkinia'' <small>Tugarinov, 1935 (''non'' Martynov 1930: preoccupied)<!-- a prehistoric Protozygoptera/Archizygoptera "dragonfly" genus --> – see below</small>
}}
}}

'''Falcons''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɒ|l|k|ən|,_|ˈ|f|ɔː|l|-|,_|ˈ|f|æ|l|-}}) are [[birds of prey]] in the [[genus]] '''''Falco''''', which includes about 40 [[species]]. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow [[bird wing|wing]]s are called [[hobby (bird)|hobbies]],<ref name="Oberprieler-2009">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXhFAQAAIAAJ&q=Some+small+falcons+with+long,+narrow+wings+are+called+%22hobbies%22|title=The raptor guide of Southern Africa|last1=Oberprieler|first1=Ulrich|last2=Cillié|first2=Burger|date=2009|publisher=Game Parks Publishing|isbn=9780620432238|language=en}}</ref> and some that [[hover (behaviour)#Wind hoverers|hover]] while hunting are called [[kestrel]]s.<ref name="Oberprieler-2009" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2z8CQAAQBAJ&q=falcons+which+hover+while+hunting+are+called+%22kestrels%22&pg=PP50|title=Falcons (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 132)|last=Sale|first=Richard|date=28 July 2016|publisher=HarperCollins UK|isbn=9780007511433|language=en}}</ref> Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except [[Antarctica]], though closely related raptors did occur there in the [[Eocene]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s10336-015-1316-0|title=A stem falconid bird from the Lower Eocene of Antarctica and the early southern radiation of the falcons|journal=Journal of Ornithology|volume=157|issue=3|pages=885|year=2016|last1=Cenizo|first1=Marcos|last2=Noriega|first2=Jorge I.|last3=Reguero|first3=Marcelo A.|bibcode=2016JOrni.157..885C |s2cid=15517037|url=http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/107977|hdl=11336/54190|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have longer [[flight feather]]s, which make their configuration more like that of a general-purpose bird such as a [[wikt:broadwing|broadwing]]. This makes flying easier while still learning the aerial skills required to be effective hunters like the adults.

The falcons are the largest genus in the Falconinae [[subfamily]] of [[Falconidae]], which also includes two other subfamilies comprising [[caracara (subfamily)|caracara]]s and a few other species of "falcons". All these birds kill prey with their [[beak]]s, using a [[beak#Tomia|tomial]] "tooth" on the side of their beaks—unlike the [[hawk]]s, [[eagle]]s and other larger birds of prey from the unrelated family [[Accipitridae]], who use [[Talon (anatomy)|talon]]s on their feet.

The largest falcon is the [[gyrfalcon]] at up to {{cvt|65|cm}} in length.  The smallest falcon species is the [[pygmy falcon]], which measures just {{cvt|20|cm}}.  As with hawks and [[owl]]s, falcons exhibit [[sexual dimorphism]], with the females typically larger than the males, thus allowing a wider range of prey species.<ref name=SPR>{{cite journal |title= The Evolution of Reversed Sexual Dimorphism in Hawks, Falcons and Owls: a comparative study |journal= Evolutionary Ecology |volume= 19 |issue= 5 |pages= 467–486 |doi= 10.1007/s10682-005-0293-9 |year = 2005|last1 = Krüger|first1 = Oliver|s2cid= 22181702 }}</ref>

As is the case with many birds of prey, falcons have exceptional powers of [[Visual perception|vision]]; the [[visual acuity]] of one species has been measured at 2.6 times that of [[human eye]]s.<ref name=j1/> They are fast fliers, with the [[Peregrine falcon]]s having been recorded diving at speeds of {{cvt|200|mph|km/h|order=flip}}, making them the fastest-moving creatures on Earth; the fastest recorded dive attained a vertical speed of {{cvt|390|km/h|mph}}.<ref>"The Speed of Animals" in ''The New Book of Knowledge''. Grolier Academic Reference. 2003. p. 278. {{ISBN|071720538X}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The [[genus]] ''Falco'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=88 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726995 }}</ref> The [[type species]] is the [[Merlin (bird)|merlin]] (''Falco columbarius'').<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last1=Dickinson | editor-first1=E.C. | editor1-link=Edward C. Dickinson | editor-last2=Remsen | editor-first2=J.V. Jr. | editor2-link=James Van Remsen, Jr. | year=2013 | title=The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World | volume= 1: Non-passerines | edition=4th | location=Eastbourne, UK | publisher=Aves Press | isbn=978-0-9568611-0-8 | page=349 }}</ref> The genus name {{lang|la|Falco}} is [[Late Latin]] meaning a "falcon" from {{lang|la|falx}}, {{lang|la|falcis}}, meaning "a sickle", referring to the claws of the bird.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=63 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-last1=Stevenson |editor-first1=Angus |editor-last2=Brown |editor-first2=Lesley |isbn=9780199206872|edition= 6th.|location=Oxford|oclc=170973920}}</ref> In [[Middle English]] and [[Old French]], the title {{lang|enm|faucon}} refers generically to several captive raptor species.<ref name="Groombridge" />

The traditional term for a male falcon is ''tercel'' ([[British English|British spelling]]) or ''tiercel'' ([[American English|American spelling]]), from the Latin {{lang|la|tertius}} ([[3 (number)|third]]) because of the belief that only one in three eggs hatched a male bird. Some sources give the etymology as deriving from the fact that a male falcon is about one-third smaller than a female<ref>{{OEtymD|tercel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tercel |title= tercel |publisher= Dictionary.reference.com |access-date= 20 March 2010}}</ref><ref>"tercel", Oxford Dictionary</ref> ({{langx|fro|tiercelet}}). A falcon chick, especially one reared for [[falconry]], still in its downy stage, is known as an ''eyas''<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thefreedictionary.com/eyas |title=eyas |publisher= Thefreedictionary.com |access-date= 20 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0005484.html |title=Dictionary of Difficult Words – eyas |publisher=Tiscali.co.uk |date=21 September 1964 |access-date=20 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105233550/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0005484.html |archive-date=5 January 2009}}</ref> (sometimes spelled ''eyass''). The word arose by mistaken division of [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|un niais}}, from Latin presumed {{lang|la|nidiscus}} (nestling) from {{lang|la|nidus}} ([[nest]]). The technique of hunting with trained captive birds of prey is known as [[falconry]].

Compared to other birds of prey, the [[fossil]] record of the falcons is not well distributed in time. For years, the oldest fossils tentatively assigned to this genus were from the Late [[Miocene]], less than 10 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Zhiheng |last2=Zhou |first2=Zhonghe |last3=Deng |first3=Tao |last4=Li |first4=Qiang |last5=Clarke |first5=Julia A. |date=June 4, 2014 |title=A falconid from the Late Miocene of northwestern China yields further evidence of transition in Late Neogene steppe communities |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/26c878fa-ddf5-456b-81ca-afd12dd48b0a/content |journal=The Auk: Ornithological Advances |volume=131 |pages=335–350}}</ref> This coincides with a period in which many modern genera of birds became recognizable in the fossil record. As of 2021, the oldest falconid fossil is estimated to be 55 million years old.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mayr |first1=Gerald |last2=Kitchener |first2=Andrew C. |date=2021-10-01 |title=New fossils from the London Clay show that the Eocene Masillaraptoridae are stem group representatives of falcons (Aves, Falconiformes) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=41 |issue=6 |article-number=e2083515 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2021.2083515 |issn=0272-4634|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021JVPal..41E3515M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirschbaum |first=Kari |title=Falconidae (falcons) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Falconidae/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Animal Diversity Web |language=en}}</ref> Given the distribution of fossil and living ''Falco'' [[taxa]], falcons are probably of North American, African, or possibly Middle Eastern or European origin. Falcons are not closely related to other birds of prey, and their [[Bird of prey#Phylogeny|nearest relatives]] are [[parrots]] and [[songbirds]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Suh A, Paus M, Kiefmann M |title=Mesozoic retroposons reveal parrots as the closest living relatives of passerine birds |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=2|pages=443–8 |year=2011 |pmid=21863010 |doi=10.1038/ncomms1448 |pmc=3265382 |issue=8|bibcode=2011NatCo...2..443S |display-authors=etal |article-number=443 }}</ref>

===Overview===
Falcons are roughly divisible into three or four groups. The first contains the [[kestrel]]s (probably excepting the [[American kestrel]]);<ref name=Groombridge/> usually small and stocky falcons of mainly brown upperside colour and sometimes sexually dimorphic; three African species that are generally gray in colour stand apart from the typical members of this group. The [[fox kestrel|fox]] and [[greater kestrel]]s can be told apart at first glance by their tail colours, but not by much else; they might be very close relatives and are probably much closer to each other than the lesser and common kestrels. Kestrels feed chiefly on [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] [[vertebrate]]s and [[invertebrate]]s of appropriate size, such as [[rodent]]s, [[reptile]]s, or [[insect]]s.

The second group contains slightly larger (on average) species, the hobbies and relatives. These birds are characterized by considerable amounts of dark slate-gray in their plumage; their [[Cheek|malar]] areas are nearly always black. They feed mainly on smaller birds.

Third are the peregrine falcon and its relatives, variably sized powerful birds that also have a black malar area (except some very light color [[morph (zoology)|morph]]s), and often a black cap, as well. They are very fast birds with a maximum speed of 390 kilometres per hour. Otherwise, they are somewhat intermediate between the other groups, being chiefly medium grey with some lighter or brownish colours on their upper sides. They are, on average, more delicately patterned than the hobbies and, if the hierofalcons are excluded (see below), this group typically contains species with horizontal barring on their undersides. As opposed to the other groups, where tail colour varies much in general but little according to [[evolution]]ary relatedness,<ref group=note>For example, tail colour in the [[common kestrel|common]] and [[lesser kestrel]]s is absolutely identical, yet they do not seem closely related.</ref> the tails of the large falcons are quite uniformly dark grey with inconspicuous black banding and small, white tips, though this is probably [[plesiomorph]]ic. These large ''Falco'' species feed on mid-sized birds and terrestrial vertebrates.

Very similar to these, and sometimes included therein, are the four or so species of [[hierofalcon]] (literally, "hawk-falcons"). They represent taxa with, usually, more [[phaeomelanin]]s, which impart reddish or brown colors, and generally more strongly patterned plumage reminiscent of [[hawk]]s. Their undersides have a lengthwise pattern of blotches, lines, or arrowhead marks.

While these three or four groups, loosely circumscribed, are an informal arrangement, they probably contain several distinct [[clade]]s in their entirety.

A study of [[mtDNA]] [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] [[DNA sequence|sequence]] data of some kestrels<ref name=Groombridge/> identified a clade containing the common kestrel and related "[[Cheek|malar]]-striped" species, to the exclusion of such taxa as the greater kestrel (which lacks a malar stripe), the lesser kestrel (which is very similar to the common, but also has no malar stripe), and the American kestrel, which has a malar stripe, but its colour pattern – apart from the brownish back – and also the black feathers behind the ear, which never occur in the true kestrels, are more reminiscent of some hobbies. The malar-striped kestrels apparently split from their relatives in the [[Gelasian]], roughly 2.0–2.5 million years ago (Mya), and are seemingly of tropical East African origin. The entire "true kestrel" group—excluding the American species—is probably a distinct and quite young [[clade]], as also suggested by their numerous [[apomorph]]ies.
[[File:FalconHeadBeak.png|thumb|Most members of the genus ''Falco'' show a "tooth" on the upper [[mandible]].]]
Other studies<ref name=Helbig/><ref name=Wink1998/><ref name=Wink2000/><ref name=Wink2004/><ref name=Nittinger/> have confirmed that the hierofalcon are a [[monophyly|monophyletic]] group–and that [[hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] is quite frequent at least in the larger falcon species. Initial studies of mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data suggested that the hierofalcon are [[basal (evolution)|basal]] among living falcons.<ref name=Helbig/><ref name=Wink1998/> The discovery of a [[Numt|NUMT]] proved this earlier theory erroneous.<ref name=Wink2000/> In reality, the hierofalcon are a rather young group, originating at the same time as the start of the main kestrel radiation, about 2 Mya. Very little fossil history exists for this lineage. However, the present diversity of very recent origin suggests that this lineage may have nearly gone extinct in the recent past.<ref name=Nittinger/><ref name=Johnson/>

The phylogeny and delimitations of the peregrine and hobby groups are more problematic. Molecular studies have only been conducted on a few species, and the morphologically ambiguous taxa have often been little researched. The [[morphology (biology)|morphology]] of the [[Syrinx (bird anatomy)|syrinx]], which contributes well to resolving the overall [[phylogeny]] of the [[Falconidae]],<ref name=Griffiths1999/><ref name=Griffiths2004/> is not very informative in the present genus. Nonetheless, a core group containing the peregrine and Barbary falcons, which, in turn, group with the hierofalcon and the more distant [[prairie falcon]] (which was sometimes placed with the hierofalcon, though it is entirely distinct [[biogeographical]]ly), as well as at least most of the "typical" hobbies, are confirmed to be [[monophyly|monophyletic]] as suspected.<ref name=Helbig/><ref name=Wink1998/>

Given that the American ''Falco'' species of today belong to the peregrine group, or are apparently more basal species, the initially most successful [[evolutionary radiation]] seemingly was a [[Holarctic]] one that originated possibly around central Eurasia or in (northern) Africa. One or several lineages were present in North America by the [[Early Pliocene]] at latest.

The origin of today's major ''Falco'' groups—the "typical" hobbies and kestrels, for example, or the peregrine-hierofalcon complex, or the [[aplomado falcon]] lineage—can be quite confidently placed from the [[Miocene]]-[[Pliocene]] boundary through the [[Zanclean]] and [[Piacenzian]] and just into the Gelasian, that is from 2.4 to 5.3 Mya, when the malar-striped kestrels diversified. Some groups of falcons, such as the hierofalcon complex and the peregrine-Barbary superspecies, have only evolved in more recent times; the species of the former seem to be 120,000 years old or so.<ref name=Nittinger/>

===Species===
The sequence follows the taxonomic order of White ''et al.'' (1996),<ref name=White/> except for adjustments in the kestrel sequence.

{|  class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! Image !! Common name !! Scientific name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Madagascar Kestrel RWD.jpg|120px]]||  [[Malagasy kestrel]]|| ''Falco newtoni'' || Madagascar, Mayotte, and the Comores.
|-
|[[File:Falco araea Seychelles Kestrel side views (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  [[Seychelles kestrel]]|| ''Falco araeus'' ||Seychelles Islands
|-
|[[File:Mauritius_kestrel_(Falco_punctatus).jpg|120px]]||  [[Mauritius kestrel]]|| ''Falco punctatus'' || Mauritius
|-
|[[File:Spotted kestrel flying (16862666012).jpg|120px]]||  [[Spotted kestrel]]|| ''Falco moluccensis'' ||Wallacea and Java.
|-
|[[File:Nankeen Kestrel - Bimbi.jpg|120px]]||  [[Nankeen kestrel]] or Australian kestrel || ''Falco cenchroides'' || Australia and New Guinea.
|-
|[[File:Common kestrel falco tinnunculus.jpg|120px]]||  [[Common kestrel]]|| ''Falco tinnunculus'' || Widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
|-
|[[File:Rock Kestrel (Falco rupicolus), Mountain Zebra NP, South Africa.jpg|120px]]||  [[Rock kestrel]]|| ''Falco rupicolus'' ||Northwestern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to southern Tanzania, and south to South Africa.
|-
|[[File:Hi There (41472582).jpeg|120px]]||  [[Greater kestrel]]|| ''Falco rupicoloides'' ||Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, parts of Angola and Zambia and in much of South Africa. 
|-
|[[File:Falco alcopex.jpg|120px]]||  [[Fox kestrel]]|| ''Falco alopex'' || South of the Sahara from Mali eastwards as far as Ethiopia and north-west Kenya. It occasionally wanders west to Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea and south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
|-
|[[File:Falco naumanni, Israel 02.jpg|120px]]||  [[Lesser kestrel]]|| ''Falco naumanni'' || Mediterranean across Central Asia into China and Mongolia.
|-
|[[File:Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus) (6861327565).jpg|120px]]||  [[Grey kestrel]]|| ''Falco ardosiaceus'' ||Ethiopia, western parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
|-
|[[File:Dickinson's Kestrel (Falco dickinsoni) (23164736424).jpg|120px]]||  [[Dickinson's kestrel]]|| ''Falco dickinsoni'' || Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi along with north-eastern South Africa.
|-
|[[File:Cerchneis zoniventris.jpg|120px]]||  [[Banded kestrel]]|| ''Falco zoniventris'' ||Madagascar
|-
|[[File:Red-Necked Falcon.JPG|120px]]||  [[Red-necked falcon]]|| ''Falco chicquera'' ||Africa, India
|-
|[[File:Red-footed Falcon.jpg|120px]]||  [[Red-footed falcon]]|| ''Falco vespertinus'' ||Russia, Ukraine and bordering regions.
|-
|[[File:Amur falcon, Falco amurensis, male at Eendracht Road, Suikerbosrand, Gauteng, South Africa (25817217862).jpg|120px]]||  [[Amur falcon]]|| ''Falco amurensis'' ||South-eastern Siberia and Northern China.
|-
|[[File:Eleonorenfalke1.jpg|120px]]||  [[Eleonora's falcon]]|| ''Falco eleonorae''  ||Greece, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and off Spain, Italy, Croatia, Morocco and Algeria.
|-
|[[File:Sooty Falcon, Allée des Baobabs near Morondava, Madagascar.jpg|120px]]||  [[Sooty falcon]]|| ''Falco concolor'' ||Northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region.
|-
|[[File:AmericanKestrel02.jpg|120px]]||  [[American kestrel]] or "sparrow hawk"|| ''Falco sparverius'' ||Central and western Alaska across northern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south throughout North America, into central Mexico and the Caribbean. 
|-
|[[File:Falcão De Coleira Aplomado Falcon Falco Femoralis (45602460).jpeg|120px]]||  [[Aplomado falcon]]|| ''Falco femoralis'' ||Northern Mexico and Trinidad locally to southern South America.
|-
|[[File:Falco columbarius PP.jpg|120px]]||  [[Merlin (bird)|Merlin]] or "pigeon hawk"|| ''Falco columbarius'' || Eurasia, North Africa, North America.
|-
|[[File:OFalco rufigularis Bat Falcon (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  [[Bat falcon]]|| ''Falco rufigularis'' || Tropical Mexico, Central and South America, and Trinidad
|-
|[[File:Falco deiroleucus - Orange-breasted Falcon.JPG|120px]]||  [[Orange-breasted falcon]]|| ''Falco deiroleucus'' || Southern Mexico to northern Argentina.
|-
|[[File:Hobby - Falco subbuteo.jpg|120px]]||  [[Eurasian hobby]]|| ''Falco subbuteo'' ||Africa, Europe and Asia.
|-
|[[File:African Hobby bwindi jan06 (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  [[African hobby]]|| ''Falco cuvierii'' || Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
|-
|[[File:Oriental Hobby - Falco severus - Falco (2526569907).jpg|120px]]||  [[Oriental hobby]]|| ''Falco severus'' ||Eastern Himalayas and ranges southwards through Indochina to Australasia
|-
|[[File:Australian Hobby Pikedale Jul02.JPG|120px]]||  [[Australian hobby]] or little falcon|| ''Falco longipennis'' || Australia
|-
|[[File:Nz falcon.JPG|120px]]||  [[New Zealand falcon]] or kārearea|| ''Falco novaeseelandiae'' ||New Zealand
|-
|[[File:Brown falcon.jpg|120px]]||  [[Brown falcon]]|| ''Falco berigora'' ||Australia and New Guinea. 
|-
|[[File:Grey Falcon (1) - Christopher Watson (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  [[Grey falcon]]|| ''Falco hypoleucos'' || Australia
|-
|[[File:Falco subniger.jpg|120px]]||  [[Black falcon]]|| ''Falco subniger'' || Australia
|-
|[[File:Falco biarmicus02.png|120px]]||  [[Lanner falcon]]|| ''Falco biarmicus'' || Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia.
|-
|[[File:Laggar Falcon adult male.jpg|120px]]||  [[Laggar falcon]]|| ''Falco jugger'' || Southeastern Iran, southeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, through India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar.
|-
|[[File:Сокол балобан на обучении (Falco cherrug).jpg|120px]]||  [[Saker falcon]]|| ''Falco cherrug'' || Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China.
|-
|[[File:Gyr falcon - Falco rusticolus - Fálki 2.jpg|120px]]||  [[Gyrfalcon]]|| ''Falco rusticolus'' ||Eastern and western Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Iceland and Norway.
|-
|[[File:Falco mexicanus -San Luis Obispo, California, USA-8.jpg|120px]]||  [[Prairie falcon]]|| ''Falco mexicanus'' ||Western North America.
|-
|[[File:Falco peregrinus m Humber Bay Park Toronto.jpg|120px]]||  [[Peregrine falcon]]|| ''Falco peregrinus'' || Cosmopolitan
|-
|[[File:Falco fasciinucha, Chimanimani National Park, Zimbabwe 1.jpg|120px]]||  [[Taita falcon]]|| ''Falco fasciinucha'' ||Kenya 
|-
|}

===Extinct species===
*[[Réunion kestrel]], ''Falco duboisi'' – [[Holocene extinction|extinct]] (about 1700)

===Fossil record===
*''[[Falco medius]]'' (Late Miocene of Cherevichnyi, Ukraine)<ref group=note>[[IZAN]] 45-4033: left [[carpometacarpus]]. Small species; possibly closer to kestrels than to peregrine lineage or hierofalcons, but may be more basal altogether due to its age</ref><ref name=Becker/><ref name=Mlikovsky/>
*''?Falco'' sp. (Late Miocene of Idaho)<ref group=note>[[Idaho Museum of Natural History|IMNH]] 27937. A [[coracoid]] of a [[merlin (bird)|merlin]]-sized species. It does not seem close to ''F. columbarius'' or the Recent North American species (Becker 1987).</ref>
*''Falco'' sp. (Early<ref name=Martin/> Pliocene of Kansas)<ref name=Feduccia/>
*''Falco'' sp. (Early Pliocene of Bulgaria – Early Pleistocene of Spain and Czech Republic)<ref group=note>A [[hierofalcon]] (Mlíkovský 2002)? If so, probably not close to the living species, but an earlier divergence that left no descendants; might be more than one species due to large range in time and/or include common ancestor of hierofalcons and peregrine-Barbary complex (Nittinger ''et al.'' 2005).</ref>
*''[[Falco oregonus]]'' (Early/Middle Pliocene of Fossil Lake, Oregon) – possibly not distinct from a living species
*''[[Falco umanskajae]]'' (Late Pliocene of Kryzhanovka, Ukraine) – includes "[[Falco odessanus]]", a ''[[nomen nudum]]''<!--- not italicized --><ref name=Sobolev/>
*''?[[Falco bakalovi]]'' (Late Pliocene of Varshets, Bulgaria)<ref>Boev, Z. 1999. ''Falco bakalovi'' sp. n. – a Late Pliocene falcon (Falconidae, Aves) from Varshets (W Bulgaria). – Geologica Balcanica, 29 (1–2): 131–35.</ref><ref>Boev, Z. 2011. New fossil record of the Late Pliocene kestrel (''Falco bakalovi'' Boev, 1999) from the type locality in Bulgaria. – Geologica Balcanica, 40 (1–3): 13–30.</ref>
*''[[Falco antiquus]]'' (Middle Pleistocene of Noailles, France and possibly Horvőlgy, Hungary)<ref group=note>Supposedly a [[saker falcon]] [[paleosubspecies]] (Mlíkovský 2002), but this is not too likely due to the probable [[Eemian]] origin of that species.</ref><ref name=Nittinger/><!-- Boreas, Vol. 32, pp. 521–31. -->
* [[Cuban kestrel]], ''Falco kurochkini'' (Late Pleistocene/Holocene of Cuba, West Indies)<!-- RevBiol18 p155 -->
* ''[[Falco chowi]]'' (China)
*''[[Falco bulgaricus]]'' (Late Miocene of Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria)<ref>Boev, Z. 2011. ''Falco bulgaricus'' sp. n. (Aves, Falconiformes) from the Middle Miocene of Hadzhidimovo (SW Bulgaria). – Acta zoologica bulgarica, 63 (1): 17–35.</ref>

Several more paleosubspecies of extant species also been described; see species accounts for these.

''"Sushkinia" pliocaena'' from the Early Pliocene of Pavlodar (Kazakhstan) appears to be a falcon of some sort. It might belong in this genus or a closely related one.<ref name=Becker/> In any case, the genus name ''[[Sushkinia]]'' is invalid for this animal because it had already been allocated to a prehistoric [[dragonfly]] relative. In 2015 the bird genus was renamed ''[[Psushkinia]]''.<ref>Nikita V. Zelenkov; Evgeny N. Kurochkin (2015). "КЛАСС AVES". In E.N. Kurochkin; A.V. Lopatin; N.V. Zelenkov. Ископаемые позвоночные России и сопредельных стран. Ископаемые рептилии и птицы. Часть 3 / Fossil vertebrates of Russia and adjacent countries. Fossil Reptiles and Birds. Part 3. GEOS. pp. 86–290. {{ISBN|978-5-89118-699-6}}.</ref>

The supposed ''"Falco" pisanus'' was actually a pigeon of the genus ''[[Columba (genus)|Columba]]'', possibly the same as ''Columba omnisanctorum'', which, in that case, would adopt the older species name of the "falcon".<ref name= Mlikovsky/> The [[Eocene]] fossil ''"Falco" falconellus'' (or ''"F." falconella'') from Wyoming is a bird of uncertain affiliations, maybe a falconid, maybe not; it certainly does not belong in this genus. ''"Falco" readei'' is now considered a [[paleosubspecies]] of the [[yellow-headed caracara]] (''Milvago chimachima'').

==See also==
{{Portal|Birds}}

*[[Ra]]
*[[Horus]]
*[[Khonsu]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Becker>{{cite journal|author=Becker, Jonathan J. |year=1987|title= Revision of ''"Falco" ramenta'' Wetmore and the Neogene evolution of the Falconidae|journal=[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]|volume=104|issue=2|pages= 270–76|jstor = 4087033|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v104n02/p0270-p0276.pdf|doi=10.1093/auk/104.2.270}}</ref>

<ref name=Feduccia>[[UMMP]] V27159, V29107, V57508-V57510, V57513/V57514 some limb bones. Slightly smaller than a [[merlin (bird)|merlin]] and more robust than [[American kestrel]], and seems not too distant from ''F. columbarius''. {{cite journal|author=Feduccia, J. Alan |year=1970|title= Some birds of prey from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas|journal=[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]|volume=87|issue=4|pages= 795–97|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v087n04/p0795-p0797.pdf|doi=10.2307/4083714|last2=Ford|first2=Norman L.|jstor=4083714}}</ref>

<ref name=Griffiths1999>{{cite journal|author=Griffiths, Carole S. |year=1999|title= Phylogeny of the Falconidae inferred from molecular and morphological data|journal=[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]|volume=116|issue=1|pages= 116–30|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v116n01/p0116-p0130.pdf|doi=10.2307/4089459|jstor=4089459}}</ref>

<ref name=Griffiths2004>{{cite journal|author1=Griffiths, Carole S. |author2=Barrowclough, George F. |author3=Groth, Jeff G. |author4=Mertz, Lisa |year=2004|title= Phylogeny of the Falconidae (Aves): a comparison of the efficacy of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=32|issue=1|pages= 101–09|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.019|pmid=15186800|bibcode=2004MolPE..32..101G }}</ref>

<ref name=Groombridge>{{cite journal|author1=Groombridge, Jim J. |author2=Jones, Carl G. |author3=Bayes, Michelle K. |author4=van Zyl, Anthony J. |author5=Carrillo, José |author6=Nichols, Richard A. |author7=Bruford, Michael W. |year=2002|title= A molecular phylogeny of African kestrels with reference to divergence across the Indian Ocean|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=25|issue=2|pages= 267–77|doi=10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00254-3|pmid=12414309|bibcode=2002MolPE..25..267G }}</ref>

<ref name=Helbig>Helbig, A.J.; Seibold, I.; Bednarek, W.; Brüning, H.; Gaucher, P.; Ristow, D.; Scharlau, W.; Schmidl, D. & Wink, Michael (1994): [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/1994/4.%201994.pdf Phylogenetic relationships among falcon species (genus Falco) according to DNA sequence variation of the cytochrome b gene]. ''In:'' Meyburg, B.-U. & Chancellor, R.D. (eds.): ''Raptor conservation today'': pp. 593–99</ref>

<ref name=j1>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1257767|title=Falcon visual acuity|year=1976|last1=Fox|first1=R|last2=Lehmkuhle|first2=S.|last3=Westendorf|first3=D.|journal=Science|volume=192|issue=4236|pages=263–65|pmid=1257767|bibcode=1976Sci...192..263F}}</ref>

<ref name=Johnson>{{cite journal|author1=Johnson, J.A. |author2=Burnham, K.K. |author3=Burnham, W.A. |author4=Mindell, D.P. |year=2007|title= Genetic structure among continental and island populations of gyrfalcons|journal=Molecular Ecology|volume=16|pages=3145–60|doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03373.x|issue=15|pmid=17651193|bibcode=2007MolEc..16.3145J |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71471/1/j.1365-294X.2007.03373.x.pdf|hdl=2027.42/71471 |s2cid=17437176 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=Martin>Fox Canyon Local Fauna, 4.3–4.8 [[million years ago]]: Martin, R.A.; Honey, J.G. & Pelaez-Campomanes, P. (2000): [http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/OFR/2000/OFR00_61/index.html The Meade Basin Rodent Project; a progress report]. Kansas Geological Survey Open-file Report 2000-61. ''Paludicola'' '''3'''(1): 1–32.</ref>

<ref name=Mlikovsky>Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): [http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf |date=20 May 2011 }}. Ninox Press, Prague<!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk 121:623–27 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 --></ref>

<ref name=Nittinger>{{cite journal|author1=Nittinger, F. |author2=Haring, E. |author3=Pinsker, W. |author4=Wink, Michael |author5=Gamauf, A. |year=2005|title= Out of Africa? Phylogenetic relationships between ''Falco biarmicus'' and other hierofalcons (Aves Falconidae)|journal=Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research|volume=43|issue=4|pages= 321–31|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0469.2005.00326.x|url=http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/2005/28.2005.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name=Sobolev>[[National Academy of Science of Ukraine|NNPM NAN]] 41-646. Almost complete left [[tarsometatarsus]]. Probably a prehistoric hobby, perhaps less specialized for bird hunting: Sobolev, D.V. (2003): [http://www.v-zool.kiev.ua/pdfs/2003/6/11.pdf Новый вид плиоценового сокола (Falconiformes, Falconidae)] [A new species of Pliocene falcon (Falconiformes, Falconidae)] ''Vestnik zoologii'' 37 (6): 85–87. [Russian with English abstract]</ref>

<ref name=White>White, Clayton M.; Olsen, Penny D. & Kiff, Lloyd F. (1994): Family Falconidae. ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (editors): ''[[Handbook of Birds of the World]], Volume 2 (New World Vultures to Guineafowl)'': 216–75, plates 24–28. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. {{ISBN|84-87334-15-6}}</ref>

<ref name=Wink1998>Wink, Michael; Seibold, I.; Lotfikhah, F. & Bednarek, W. (1998): [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/1998/31.%201998.pdf Molecular systematics of holarctic raptors (Order Falconiformes)]. ''In:'' Chancellor, R.D., Meyburg, B.-U. & Ferrero, J.J. (eds.): ''Holarctic Birds of Prey'': 29–48. Adenex & WWGBP</ref>

<ref name=Wink2000>Wink, Michael & Sauer-Gürth, Hedi (2000): [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/2000/29.%202000.pdf Advances in the molecular systematics of African raptors]. ''In:'' Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (eds): ''Raptors at Risk'': 135–47. WWGBP/Hancock House, Berlin/Blaine.</ref>

<ref name=Wink2004>Wink, Michael; Sauer-Gürth, Hedi; Ellis, David & Kenward, Robert (2004): [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/2004/27.2004.pdf Phylogenetic relationships in the Hierofalco complex (Saker-, Gyr-, Lanner-, Laggar Falcon)]. ''In:'' Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (eds.): ''Raptors Worldwide'': 499–504. WWGBP, Berlin</ref>

}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{ cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=J. | last2=Johnson | first2=J.A. | last3=Mindell | first3=D.P. | year=2015 | title=Rapid diversification of falcons (Aves: Falconidae) due to expansion of open habitats in the Late Miocene | journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] | volume=82 | pages=166–182 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.08.010 | pmid=25256056 | bibcode=2015MolPE..82..166F }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/falcons-caracaras-falconidae Falconidae videos] on the Internet Bird Collection, ibc.lynxeds.com
*[https://www.raptorresource.org/ The Raptor Resource Project] – Peregrine, owl, eagle and osprey cams, facts, and other resources, raptorresource.org
<!--Paraphyletic group; includes Polihierax semitorquatus-->
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Falcon |year=1905 |short=x}}

{{Falconiformes|F.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q43489}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Birds of prey]]
[[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Falco (genus)| ]]
[[Category:Falcons| ]]
[[Category:Falconry]]
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[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:National symbols of Kuwait]]
[[Category: Bird common names]]