Shaheen falcon

Shaheen falcon
Territorial bird of Gilgit-Baltistan, Symbol of Pakistan Air Force
Vulnerable
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Falconiformes
Family:
Falconidae
Genus:
Falco
Species:
F. peregrinus
Subspecies:
Falco peregrinus peregrinator

The shaheen falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator) is also known as the Indian peregrine falcon, Other names are the black shaheen, Pakistani shaheen, or simply the shaheen.

It is a non-migratory subspecies of the peregrine falcon found mainly in hilly and mountainous regions of the Indian subcontinent and the nearby island of Sri Lanka. In Pakistani literature, the shaheen has a special association with the poetry of the country's national poet, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The Pakistan Air Force has as a symbol and in Gilgit-Baltistan it is the unofficial bird of the region.

References

  1. ↑ Gehan de Silva Wijeratne; Deepal Warakagoda & T.S.U. de Zylva (2007). "Species description". A Photographic Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. p. 37 of 144. ISBN 978-1-85974-511-3.
  2. ↑ Manjula Vijesundara (2007). Sinhala Kurulu Vishvakoshaya (Sinhala bird encyclopaedia) - Part 1. Suriya Publishers. p. 278. ISBN 978-955-8892-94-7.
  3. ↑ The shaheen (شاهین) of Arabic and Persian writers are usually barbary falcons; those in Indian (शाहीन) and Pakistani (شاہین) sources normally refer to 'peregrinators'.
  4. ↑ Döttlinger, Hermann; & Nicholls, Mike (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" (PDF). Forktail. 21: 133–138. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2011-11-08.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)