Saker falcon
| Saker falcon | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Genus: | Falco |
| Subgenus: | (Hierofalco) |
| Species: | F. cherrug |
| Binomial name | |
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Falco cherrug Gray, 1834 |
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| Range of F. cherrug Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Falco altaicus (Menzbier, 1891) |
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Falco altaicus (Menzbier, 1891)
Hierofalco altaicus Menzbier, 1891
The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from eastern Europe eastwards across Asia to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the Arabian peninsula, northern Pakistan and western China.
The specific part of the scientific name, cherrug, comes from the Hindi name charg for a female saker. The common name saker comes from the (Arabic: صقر, translit. Ṣaqr) meaning "falcon".
The saker falcon is a large hierofalcon, larger than the lanner falcon and almost as large as gyrfalcon at 47–55 cm (19–22 in) length with a wingspan of 105–129 cm (41–51 in). Its broad blunt wings give it a shadow similar to gyrfalcon, but its plumage is more similar to a lanner falcon's.
Saker falcons have brown upperbellies and contrasting grey flight feathers. The head and underparts are paler brown, with streaking from the breast down. Males (called sakrets in falconry) and females are similar, as are young birds, although these tend to be a duller brown. The call is a sharp kiy-ee.
Adults can be distinguished from the similar lanner falcon since the lanner is blue-grey above with a reddish back to the head. However, juveniles of the two species can be very similar although the saker falcon always has a uniformly buff top of the head with dark streaks, and a less clear pattern on the sides of the head.
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