Shaheen falcon

Shaheen falcon
Territorial bird of Gilgit-Baltistan, Symbol of Pakistan Air Force
Vulnerable[1]
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,[2] Other names are the black shaheen, Pakistani shaheen, or simply the shaheen.[3]

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.[4] 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

[change | change source]
  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)