Eagle Vs. Falcon – What Are The Main Differences Between The Both

The eagle vs. falcon, both are the birds of prey. The eagles are large birds and known because of their size. Falcons are not so big. They have sharp wings with great wingspan. They are unique with concave beaks. There are some similarities and differences as well between these birds.

Before comparing eagle vs. falcon, have some overview of individual birds. Each has specific features that make them unique. There are mentioned some general characteristics as well.

Eagle Vs. Falcon – Things To Know About Eagle

There must be huge aspects where we can do compare the eagle vs. falcons. But before this, we have mentioned some special features and characteristic behaviour of eagles.

1. Eagle Vs. Falcon – General Characteristics:

Eagles are the great birds of prey known as mighty raptors. They are very strong and powerful. The head and bill of an eagle are heavy enough. They are the largest among all birds of prey. But they are smaller than vultures.

The shape of beak is not straight but hooked one. Because of lying in the category of preying birds, they have a very sharp beak. The average weight of these eagles is 18 pounds. Interestingly they can attack large animals with full strength.

2. Classification Of Eagles:

Mainly there are two categories of eagles.  One is a sea eagle and other is called land eagle. The sea eagles live in the specified area. They are abundantly existing in coastal regions. They usually survive by preying on a variety of fish and many other marine lives.

The North American eagles like the golden eagle and bald eagles have a wingspan of around 7 feet. These eagles are preferred for falconry spots. These birds have very strong wings, and beaks. Eagles have more than 60 species. They are widespread across the various regions in the world.

The common regions where eagles do exist are south America, Australia, Canada, Eurasia, Africa, and the United States of America.

3. Behaviour:

They can soar very high and capable to climb over thermals. The eagles have very sharp eyesight. These skills make them capable to be a great hunter.

Moreover, the claws are also very sharp and strong to catch the prey. That is why they attack several animals and eat them. The sharp beak helps the eagle to tear the flesh. That is why they are called birds of prey. Eagles fly very high and remain at great heights mostly.

4. Eagle Vs. Falcon – Key Features:

The eagles belong to the family named Accipitridae. These are aggressive birds. This vigorous aggressiveness reflects when they attack other animals. Their nails are very strong too pinch the prey. The bird with a broad chest and round large wings have different eye colour. This angry bird has vivid ridges like eyebrows.

Things To Know About Falcons

There must be huge aspects where we can do compare the eagle vs. falcon. But before this, we have mentioned some special features and characteristic behaviour of falcons.

1. General Behaviour:

Falcon is also the birds of prey. They are commonly called the raptors. The beak shape is angular and very strong. They mostly attack the prey by breaking the neck. This specified beak’s angular shape helps the falcon to hunt like this.

The genus of both eagle and falcon is the same. Falcon also carries a mark on its beak. The scientific name of the falcon is Falco.

2. Falcon’s FrameWork:

Falcon has a strong body framework in the form of strong and sturdy bones. These strong bones are filled in air and just hollow from inside. The wings are tapered and narrow shaped. These wings give them a complete shape and strength according to the size of a falcon.

They are very speedy in flying. The tapered wings make them too agile. The falcons fly in the air like a boat. It has a shape like a boat. So, it is very easy for them to float in the air. One of the falcons known as the bird with the fastest speed of flying in the world. Its name is the peregrine falcon. These falcons fly up around 200 mph in a single dive.

Some falcons weigh only 50 grams and few of them are even less than 50 grams. They have small-sized muscles. These small muscles are often called the fight muscles. The wingbeats are slightly shallow. They have much elasticity during the beating. Such, light-weighted falcons have pointy sharp wings and flap in a steady motion.

Now another type of falcon known as American kestrel falcon. It is the small specie of falcon around the world. The wingspan is almost 2 feet. More than 30 species of falcons are spread throughout the world. The main habitats are in Asia, Europe, and North America. Many of these species are listed in endangered species.

3. Eagle Vs. falcon ­­-­ K­ey Features:

So, you can summaries some key points about the characteristic features of falcons. These are aggressive birds but less energetic. The beak is angular and long. There is a notch on the beak. These falcons belong to the family Falconidae.

This bird has a slim body with pointed wings. They have dark brown or black eyes.

Eagle Vs. Falcon A Great Comparison

Here we will discuss a few aspects of eagle s. falcon in the way how they are different from each other. And is there any similarity in between or not.

1. Eagle Vs. Falcon – Similarities:

Both falcons and eagles lie under the same order named the Falconiformes. The beak shape is also the same. Bothe have hooked shape beaks.  One more similar behaviour is the way they live. They both live as raptors. They well know birds of prey. Only these aspects are found similar. On the other hand, they have a very different appearance and behaviour.

2. Eagle Vs. Falcon – Hunting & Behaviour:

They both belong to different families. Falcons lie in Falconidae family while eagles belong to Accipitridae. The way both raptors hunt is different from each other. Falcons usually first dive and then attack the prey suddenly. They are very speedy.

Eagles are somehow more robust. They use their talon to grab and crush the prey. The eagles’ claws are stronger than falcons. The steppe eagles are so powerful that they can hit the skull of a wolf.  Eagles mostly hunt at day time. They can hunt during perching. The tomial tooth is absent in eagles while falcons do have.

The falcons mostly eat pigeons and doves. Eagles eat a wide variety of food like snakes, fish, medium vertebrates, and birds. The falcons are pleasant while eagles are very aggressive.

3. Eagle Vs. Falcon – Appearance:

Eagle vs. falcon, both have a different appearance. The body of a falcon is slim while the eagle has a broad chest. Falcons are less strong and powerful than eagles. Wing shape is also different. The wings of falcons are somehow longer than eagles and are pointed.

On the other hand, eagles have broader wings and rounded as well. They have feathered legs and sharp eyesight. They have very prominent eyebrows having elevation that is absent in falcon.

There are 30 species of falcons while eagles have 60 species. Falcons exist in Asia, Europe, and North America. But eagles are mostly present in Australia, Africa, USA, And Canada.

Falcons have a grey upper body with black sides. You will see some black and brown streaks. The eye colours are also different. Falcons’ eye colour is dark brown or black. While eagles’ eye colour is diverse. The feet colour of falcons is green to yellow.

Eagles have various colours. They may be golden, brown or blackish-grey. Bald eagles are white-headed and white-tailed.

Falcons do not have any obvious difference in male and female members. You can identify male and female falcons by the pattern of throat and chest, and colours. While eagles have larger females than males.

4. Eagle Vs. Falcon – Nesting:

Eagles build their nests called eyries on higher cliffs and in trees. While falcons live in the nests on towers, or high buildings. Eagles lay white eggs and falcons’ eggs are different. They lay eggs having three or four dark markings on the white shell.

Usually, falcons lay 3 to 4 eggs at a time. These eggs take 4 to 7 weeks to hatch. During this period they need parental warmness. While when eagles’ eggs hatch, the older chick kills the younger sibling. This shows how aggressive they are by nature.

Conclusion

There have been discussed lots of interesting facts about parrots and macaws. Thus, many factors differentiate the falcons from eagles. Except for a few similarities, they have different hunting behaviour. They show different appearance and nesting as well.

So, you can easily differentiate both through this detailed guide.