Shaheen falcon

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Subspecies of bird

title: "Shaheen falcon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["falco-(genus)", "birds-of-pakistan", "birds-of-south-asia", "national-symbols-of-bangladesh", "national-symbols-of-india", "national-symbols-of-myanmar", "national-symbols-of-pakistan", "national-symbols-of-sri-lanka", "birds-described-in-1837", "subspecies"] description: "Subspecies of bird" topic_path: "geography/pakistan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaheen_falcon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Subspecies of bird ::

| name = Shaheen Falcon | image = Shaheen falcon.jpg | image_caption = Shaheen falcon in Ramakkalmedu, Kerala, India. | status = | status_system = | status_ref = | genus = Falco | species_link = Peregrine falcon | species = peregrinus | subspecies = peregrinator | authority = Sundevall, 1837 | synonyms = *Falco atriceps

  • Falco shaheen | range_map = Shaheen_distribution.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution limits based on Döttlinger (2002)

The shaheen falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator), also known as black shaheen and Indian peregrine falcon, is a non-migratory subspecies of the peregrine falcon found mainly in the Indian subcontinent. It has also been described as a migratory subspecies. The word shaheen in these names may also be spelled as shahin. This species was termed as the black shaheen by falconers to separate it from the true shaheen of Persian literature (the Barbary falcon).

Etymology

Shaheen and other variations come from Middle Persian šāhēn (literally "majestic, kingly") and the given name Šāhēn. Compare Middle Armenian շահէն (šahēn) and Old Armenian Շահէն (Šahēn). It has two meanings in Persian/Farsi: falcon, especially the Barbary falcon; the second meaning being a pointer of a scale. Scholars of Persian and the Russian ornithologist Georgi Petrovich Dementiev have noted that the name shaheen in Persian literature actually referred to Falco peregrinus babylonicus.

Taxonomy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Peregrine_Falcon_on_Perch_(CSMVS_15.302).jpg" caption="Mughal]] India, early 17th-century. [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya"] ::

The taxon was formally described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1837 as a separate species Falco peregrinator, based on a juvenile specimen caught on a ship between Sri Lanka and the Nicobar Islands. Its taxonomic status as a subspecies of Falco peregrinus has been controversial for several years. Amidst conflicting views by ornithologists in the mid-19th century, the shaheen falcon was described as three new species: Falco shaheen from south India was described by Jerdon in 1839, Falco micrurus from Nepal and Burma was described by Hodgson in 1844, and Falco atriceps from Northern India was described by Hume in 1869. These three species were generally accepted as distinct until around the turn of the century, when all three were lumped together with Sundevall's Falco peregrinator as Falco peregrinus peregrinator.

The subspecies name peregrinator, Latin for a wanderer or habitual traveler, was selected by Sundevall for its similarity to the species name peregrinus of the peregrine falcon, because Sundevall recognised the close similarity of his new bird to that.

The common English name shahin should not be confused with the same word in the Indo-European language, Persian, the Turkic language Turkish, and the Afroasiatic language Arabic, where it may refer to falcons or a species of falcon. In the Indo-European language Hindi, shahin or shahin kohi (koh refers to a hill

Description

The shaheen is a small and powerful-looking falcon with blackish upperparts, rufous underparts with fine, dark streaks, and white on the throat. The complete black face mask is sharply demarcated from the white throat. It has distinctive rufous underwing-coverts. It differs in all these features from the paler F. p. calidus, which is a winter visitor to India, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere in southern Asia. Males and females have similar markings and plumage; apart from size there is no sexual dimorphism. The birds range in length from 38 to 44 cm. The male is about the size of a house crow (Corvus splendens); the female is larger.

Distribution and habitat

The shaheen is found in south and southeast Asia, from Pakistan in the west, throughout India,

Sri Lanka

The shaheen is the local resident species of the peregrine in Sri Lanka where it is uncommon but found throughout the island in the lowlands, and at elevations of up to 1200 m in the hill country, Sigiriya is a well known site for it.

Ecology and behaviour

The shaheen is usually seen as a solitary bird, or in pairs on cliffs and rock pinnacles. Peregrines typically mate for life.

Feeding

Shaheens mostly hunt small birds, though medium-sized birds such as pigeons and parrots are also taken. Strong and fast, they dive from great heights to strike prey with their talons. If the impact does not kill the prey, the falcon bites the neck of its victim to ensure a kill.

Breeding

The reproductive season is from December to April. The birds occupy nests on high cliff ledges or in cavities and tunnels. They lay clutches of 3-4 eggs. The chicks fledge within 48 days with an average nesting success of 1.32 chicks per nest. In India the shaheen has been recorded as nesting on man-made structures such as buildings and mobile phone transmission towers.

Status

The conservation status of the shaheen in Sri Lanka is vulnerable. A preliminary population estimate of 40 breeding pairs there was made in 1996, based on a brief survey. The estimate was later corrected to 100 breeding pairs.

In culture

In Pakistani literature, the shaheen has a special association with the poetry of the country's national poet, Allama Iqbal. It is regarded as the state bird of Pakistan, and appears on the official seal of the Pakistan Air Force logo. It is also used as a nickname for the Pakistani cricket team, and the Pakistan national football team.

A misprinted 1992 Indian stamp in a "birds of prey" series showed a picture of an osprey, with the incorrect denomination and the name Shahin Kohila, the Hindi name for female shaheen falcons; one of these stamps sold for £11,500 in a 2011 London auction.

References

References

  1. "ITIS Standard Report Page: Falco peregrinus peregrinator". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. (1994). "Handbook of Birds of the World: New World Vultures to Guineafowl". Lynx Edicions.
  3. (2005). "Distribution and population trends of the 'black shaheen' Peregrine Falcon ''Falco peregrinus peregrinator'' and the eastern Peregrine Falcon ''F. p. calidus'' in Sri Lanka". Forktail.
  4. (2007). "Estimating the resident population size of Peregrine Falcon ''Falco peregrinus'' in Peninsular Malaysia". Forktail.
  5. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%DB%8C%D9%86#Persian Wiktionairy - Shaheen]
  6. [http://globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8248 Various meanings of Shahin], ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180426130249/http://globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8248 archive])
  7. Dementiev, G.P.. (1957). "On the shaheen Falco peregrinus babylonicus". Ibis.
  8. Phillott, D. C.. (1907). "Note on the Shahin Falcons (Falco peregrinator and F. barbarus, Blanford)". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
  9. "Avibase the world bird database".
  10. Döttlinger, Hermann. (2002). "The Black Shaheen Falcon (''Falco peregrinus peregrinator'' Sundevall 1837): Its Morphology, Geographic Variation and the History and Ecology of the Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Population". University of Kent.
  11. (2011). "Variable plumage coloration of breeding Barbary Falcons ''Falco (peregrinus) pelegrinoides'' in the Canary Islands: do other Peregrine Falcon subspecies also occur in the archipelago?". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.
  12. Sundevall, Carl Jakob. (1837). "VII. Foglar från Calcutta, samlade och beskrifne af Carl J. Sundevall". Physiographiska Sällskapets Tidskrift.
  13. Sen, Ramdhun. (1841). "A Dictionary in Persian and English, with Pronunciation of Persian Words in the Roman character".
  14. "The Sikandar Nama,e Bara". The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI).
  15. (2006). "Farsi: Farsi-English, English-Farsi Dictionary & Phrasebook". Hippocrene Books.
  16. (1880). "An English and Turkish dictionary. [Entitled] Redhouse's Turkish dictionary in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English". Bernard Quaritch.
  17. Catafago, Joseph. (1858). "An English and Arabic Dictionary, in Two Parts, Arabic and English, and English and Arabic". Bernard Quaritch.
  18. (1965). "Pakistan Journal of Science". Pakistan Association for the Advancement of Science..
  19. (1872). "History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, Instituted September 22, 1831". The Berwickshire Naturilists' Club.
  20. (2007). "A Photographic Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka". New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd.
  21. Manjula Vijesundara. (2007). "Sinhala Kurulu Vishvakoshaya (Sinhala Bird Encyclopaedia) - Part 1". Suriya Publishers.
  22. (2009). "Peregrine Falcon populations – Status and Perspectives in the 21st Century". European Peregrine Falcon Working Group and Society for the Protection of Wild animals "Falcon", Poland and Turl Publishing & Poznan University of Life Sciences Press, Warsaw-Poznan.
  23. de Silva Wijeyeratne, G. (June–July 2006). "The Shaheen Falcon—Sri Lanka through a Lens". Synergy.
  24. (1999). "Status of the Black Shaheen or Indian Peregrine Falcon ''Falco peregrinus peregrinator'' in Sri Lanka". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc..
  25. "National Symbols of Pakistan". Government of Pakistan.
  26. "National Symbols of Pakistan". Government of Pakistan.
  27. A. Rashid Shaikh. (2000). "The Story of the Pakistan Air Force, 1988-1998: A Battle Against Odds". Shaheen Foundation.
  28. Sohail, Shahrukh. (2023-06-11). "FOOTBALL: PAK FOOTBALL’S NEW DAWN?".
  29. Khurram, Shahjahan. (2023-09-19). "Pakistani footballers face financial issues ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier".
  30. Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports. (2024-11-02). "Constantine departs after leading Pakistan to promised land".
  31. Dey, Aneesh. (21 June 2023). "SAFF Championship 2023: Pakistan's foreign players in the spotlight ahead of titanic clash against India".
  32. Moneylife Digital Team. (2011-06-27). "Indian stamps fetch handsome prices at London auction". Moneylife.

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falco-(genus)birds-of-pakistanbirds-of-south-asianational-symbols-of-bangladeshnational-symbols-of-indianational-symbols-of-myanmarnational-symbols-of-pakistannational-symbols-of-sri-lankabirds-described-in-1837subspecies