Hawks vs. Falcons

There are plenty of doubts whether a falcon is any different than a hawk, and that’s why people tend to classify falcons as if they were on the family of hawks. However falcons have some major differences which we can use to recognize even from the birth of the animal.

First I’m going to talk about falcons, there are over 60 different types of falcons worldwide, but the main specie is the sparrow falcon (interestinganimals.net), which main characteristic is described as “an angular bend on their beaks, this is in order to break their prey’s neck” (differencebetween.net) so it can be said that falcons are more aerodynamic, smaller and they are considered to be the super-fast flying speeders among all birds, and they divide their family tree in just one genus. Another great characteristic among falcons in comparison with hawks, is that they have smaller wings and are way lighter, this is because they need the greatest speed to compensate their small size and strength; according to a nature article, difference between, states that the diving speed of a peregrine falcon is of 322 km/h, just imagine that speed with the addition of the superior sense of vision, which is twice than that of humans. 

Now, moving to the hawk area, the main characteristic of a hawk is defined as “have a smooth beak with simple curves as they use their talons and sharp claws to kill their prey” (differencebetween.net) so we can compare the hunting skills of a hawk with that of a falcon, and according to differencesbetween, we can say that the falcons are much slower and basically just glide  above their prey, while falcons dive immediately as they identify it; the most majestic hawk is the Sainson’s hawk with “a coloured dark brown on the back with a black throat, they have a red-tailed of 18-25 inches tall” (outdooralabama.com) they have one of the sharpest claws of all birds, following the greatest hunter of all, which is the eagle.

So in conclusion the main difference and the most important among human beings, is that falcons can be trained to obey orders of human beings, while hawks are aggressive and independent. So in my opinion hawks are gorgeous, falcons are beautiful but my preferred bird would be the majestic and royal eagle.

That’s all for today folks; see you next week with the topic of eagles and falcons, thanks for reading and see you later. :D!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kuvumbli. "Hawks or Falcons." Differences Between. 9 May 2011. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-a-hawk-and-a-falcon/>.

Alabama. "Native Hawks & Falcons." Outdoor Alabama. 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/Watchablearticles/idhawks.cfm>

Cortain. "Hawks and Falcons." Interesting Animals. 22 Jun. 2007. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://www.interestinganimals.net/types_of_falcons/types_of_falcons.html>