Kyle D. Veech, age 12, of Duluth, Minnesota, for her question:
How do hawks and falcons differ?
The so called sparrow hawk of North America is really a falcon and the genuine peregrine falcon is called a duck hawk. Obviously we cannot distinguish the hawks and falcons by their common names. They are, of course, very similar birds of prey. But there are distinct differences, enough to merit classifying the two groups in separate families.
In flight, you can recognize their different silhouettes against the sky. The hawks have rather rounded wings and the wings of the falcons are slender and pointed. The hawks have short, rather stubby tails. Falcon tails are longer and tapered to a blunt tip. Both are expert aerialists, but the falcon group holds the champion speed record of the bird world.
If you care to risk a closer examination, you would find differences in their fierce hooked beaks. There is nothing surprising about the hawk's bill. But on either side of a falcon's upper bill, there is a definite notch, which makes it easier to hold onto his struggling victims. These notches are called falcon teeth, though the last bird with genuine teeth became extinct millions of years ago. No hawk has these special notches in his upper bill. Both groups catch their prey in flight, though hawks usually descend to kill their victims on the ground. The falcon kills his prey aloft.
The two groups have different ideas about child care. Most hawks build nests of twigs and small branches and line them with softer materials such as grasses and weeds, dead leaves and sometimes with chips of tree bark. Almost always, the nest is very high in a tree. Apparently the falcons do not believe in pampering their children, for they build no nests worth mentioning. The male falcon scoops a shallow hollow, sometimes on a ledge but more often on the bare ground. However, both falcons and hawks are devoted parents, sharing the duties of feeding, protecting and educating their youngsters through a rather long period of infancy.
As very similar birds of prey, the hawks and falcons are classified in the order Falconiformes. The 60 or so species of true falcons belong in the Falconidae family. The hawks belong in the family Accipitridae, a group of about 200 species including the eagles, kites and certain vultures of the Old World.
Our handsome goshawks, marsh hawks and red tailed hawks are known from coast to coast and usually measure 22 or more inches in length. Our eight inch sparrow hawk is actually our smallest falcon. Our black and white speckled gyrfalcons are about 22 inches long,. The magnificent peregrine, alias the duck hawk, is somewhat smaller. He has been recorded in power dives of 175 miles per hour, which makes him the speed champion of the bird world.