Free Falcon Screensaver

Falcon Free Screensaver

A falcon is a species of raptors in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx ( sickle ) because of the shape of these birds wings. Adult falcons have thin tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and to change direction rapidly. A falcon s wings are shaped like a scythe. Although common misconceptions of the difference of a scythe and sickle are the cause of the misconception of the shape of the falcons wings. Peregrine Falcons are the fastest-moving creatures on Earth. Other falcons include the Gyrfalcon, Lanner Falcon, and the Merlin. Some small insectivorous falcons with long narrow wings are called hobbies, and some which hover while hunting for small rodents are called kestrels. The falcons are part of the family Falconidae, which also includes the caracaras, Laughing Falcon, forest falcons, and falconets. The traditional term for a male falcon is tercel (UK spelling) or tiercel (US spelling), from Latin tertius = 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 approximately one third smaller than the female.