Sparrow Hawk or Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is found widely in North and South America. This small hawk is typically about ten inches long and has a wingspan of about twenty to twenty-two inches. The male can be about 9 inches and the female can be almost 11 inches. Their principal food seems to be mice and insects.

There are 17 subspecies listed in Clements as of 2007. The nominate subspecies, sparverius, is found from Alaska to Newfoundland and south to Mexico. The subspecies paulus is found in the lowlands of the south eastern United States to Florida. The other 15 subspecies are found in the Caribbean and south to the southern tip of South America.

The falcon genus (Falco) is found almost world wide. These are small hawk like birds generally less than 24 inches in length, although most are less than 18 inches in length. There are about 38 species in this genus. These birds generally catch their prey on the wing.

Falcons (Family Falconidae) contains the Caracaras and the Falcons. There are over sixty species in this family. Several sub-families are noted:

Polyborinae Group
Herpetotherinae - live on reptiles - about 5-7 species
Polyborinae -caracara-feed on carrion - about 9-11 species

Falconinae Group
Poliohieracinae - small insect eaters - about 8-9 species
Falconinae - typical falcons - about 35-38 species

Birds of Prey (Order Falconiformes) group contains the eagles, hawks, falcons, Old World vultures, and related birds. The majority of the species in this group feed on small animals, fish, and other birds. A few species eat dead animals. Most of them are excellent fliers and have very strong legs and claws for grasping their prey. There are about 239 species in the hawk and eagle group and about 61 species in the falcon group. When you include the unique osprey and the unique secretary bird, you total about 302 species more or less depending upon a few controversial subspecies.

(The 7 species of New World vultures have recently been placed near the pelicans and storks and were not counted in our 302 number. However, for historical reasons we have left those vultures below here, as our purpose is defining species, and helping users navigate the large number of species.)

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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