Falcons we see in this country are Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Hobby, Merlin and Gyr Falcon (very occasionally).

All falcons, while are different in some ways have common features.


The Eyes
Their eyes are dark and are on the side of the head, slightly facing forward. This is the case in all raptors. As a general rule, predators (the hunters) have their eyes in a forward facing direction. This is because as predators, they do not usually have to worry about other predators sneaking up on them!

A Peregrine Falcon is able to spot a pigeon in the sky up to five miles away! It has eyes like a zoom lens on a camera, and when hunting around for food, it is in ‘wide-angle’ mode. Once it spots its prey, it concentrates on nothing else and its eyes go into ‘zoom’ mode.

The most common of our falcons, the Kestrel hunts in a different way. Kestrels normally hover above the ground and scan the ground for their prey – usually small rodents. They do have specially adapted eyes that help them track the food. When a vole urinates, its urine gives off a special ‘ultra-violet glow’, which we cannot see.

All falcons have a dark mark in the feathers directly under the eyes. It can range from a slightly darker than normal line travelling down the face, or large distinct dark patches such as we see on the Peregrine Falcon. The purpose of these dark areas is to kill light reflection, so that not too much glare enters the eyes – a bit like built-in sunglasses.

The Beak
The beak is hooked like all the other raptors, but with a special feature. On each side of the upper mandible, is an overhang that comes down over the lower mandible. This special feature of the falcon is called the Tomial Tooth. It is designed so that a quick, fatal bite can be delivered to the prey, usually on the neck so that a possible dangerous struggle is ended as quickly as possible.

The Wings
Falcons need to reach great speeds to catch their prey, often having to manoeuvre around rocks and cliffs. Their wings are long, narrow and pointed, almost like triangles. When they are flying normally, they use their wings as any other bird would. When they need to really speed things up, they can draw their wings in close to their body – they become almost like a missile.

The Feet
Falcons all have the powerful talons but with a slight difference. The toes themselves are usually longer. This is so the falcon can wrap its talons around its prey, particularly other birds that have been caught in flight. The Kestrel that mainly catches rodents does not noticeably have this feature.

Falcon Summary
1. Species found in the UK: Peregrine, Hobby, Merlin, Kestrel, with the Gyr (the largest of falcons) an occasional visitor.
2. Eyes are large in comparison to other birds, with special features such as variable field of view and ultra-violet sensitive. Dark feathered areas under eyes.
3. Beak is hooked, with Tomial tooth feature.
4. Toes are longer in relation to their size in comparison to the other raptors.
5. Food is mainly other birds, with the Kestrel being a rodent specialist.

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