parent_taxon polihierax
Birds of prey , also known as raptors , refer to several species of predatory birds ( i . e . birds that hunt and feed on rodents and other small animals ). The term " raptor " is derived from the Latin word " rapere " ( meaning to seize or take by force ). These birds are characterized by keen vision that allows them to detect rodents during flight and powerful talons and beaks . Caracaras are birds of prey in the family ___MASK17___ . They are traditionally placed in subfamily ___MASK63___ with the forest falcons , but are sometimes considered to constitute their own subfamily Caracarinae , or as members of the true falcon subfamily , ___MASK27___ . Caracaras are principally birds of South and Central America , just reaching the southern United States . Forest falcons are members of the genus " Micrastur ", part of the family ___MASK17___ . They are endemic to the Americas , found from Mexico in the north , south through Central America and large parts of South America , and as far south as northern ___MASK21___ . Most are restricted to humid tropical and subtropical forests , but the two most widespread species , the collared and the barred forest falcons , also range into drier and more open habitats . The pygmy falcons , Polihierax , are a genus of ___MASK23___ of prey in the Falconidae family . It contains the following species : Pygmy falcon ( Polihierax semitorquatus ) White - rumped falcon or white - rumped pygmy - falcon ( Polihierax insignis ) - sometimes separated in Neohierax Falcons are birds of prey in the genus " ___MASK19___ ", which includes about 40 species . Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica . Birds ( Aves ), also known as avian dinosaurs , are a group of endothermic vertebrates , characterised by feathers , toothless beaked jaws , the laying of hard - shelled eggs , a high metabolic rate , a four - chambered heart , and a lightweight but strong skeleton . Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ___MASK83___ . They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species , at approximately ten thousand , with more than half of these being passerines , sometimes known as perching birds or , less accurately , as songbirds . The ___MASK44___ , one of the four families within the order ___MASK61___ ( the others being Cathartidae , Pandionidae and Sagittariidae ), are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet . They feed on a range of prey items from ___MASK71___ to medium - sized mammals , with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit . The ___MASK44___ have a cosmopolitan distribution , being found on all the world ' s continents ( except Antarctica ) and a number of oceanic island groups . Some species are migratory . In biology , an organism is any contiguous living system , such as an ___MASK90___ , ___MASK39___ , fungus , archaeon , or bacterium . All known types of organisms are capable of some degree of response to stimuli , reproduction , growth and development and homeostasis . An organism consists of one or more cells ; when it has one cell it is known as a unicellular organism ; and when it has more than one it is known as a multicellular organism . Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic scale and are thus loosely described as microorganisms . Humans are multicellular organisms composed of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs . The typical falconets , ___MASK76___ , are a genus of bird of prey in the Falconidae family . They are found in southeast Asia and the smallest members of Falconiformes , averaging about in length and in weight . The smallest members of the genus are the relatively widespread black - thighed falconet , and the white - fronted falconet on the island of Borneo . The name kestrel ( from French " crécerelle ", derivative from " crécelle ", i . e . ratchet ) is given to several different members of the falcon genus , " ___MASK19___ ". Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around over open country and swoop down on prey , usually small mammals , lizards or large ___MASK71___ . Other falcons are more adapted to active hunting in flight . In addition , kestrels are notable for usually having a lot of brown in their plumage . The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family ___MASK17___ . The family is divided into two subfamilies , ___MASK63___ , which includes the caracaras and forest falcons , and ___MASK27___ , the falcons , kestrels and falconets (" Microhierax " and " Spiziapteryx "). They differ from the eagles of Accipitridae , in that falcons kill with their beaks instead of their taloned feet . They have a " tooth " on the side of their beak for the purpose . Binomial nomenclature ( also called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature ) is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts , both of which use Latin grammatical forms , although they can be based on words from other languages . Such a name is called a binomial name ( which may be shortened to just " binomial "), a binomen or a scientific name ; more informally it is also called a Latin name . The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs ; the second part identifies the species within the genus . For example , humans belong to the genus " ___MASK82___ " and within this genus to the species " ___MASK82___ sapiens ". The " formal " introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus , effectively beginning with his work " Species Plantarum " in 1753 . But Gaspard Bauhin , in as early as 1623 , had introduced in his book " Pinax theatri botanici " ( English , " Illustrated exposition of plants ") many names of genera that were later adopted by Linnaeus . Eagle is a common name for many large birds of prey of the family ___MASK44___ ; it belongs to several groups of genera that are not necessarily closely related to each other . A genus ( genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology . In the hierarchy of biological classification , genus comes above species and below family . In binomial nomenclature , the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus .