Eleonora’s falcon

Description

Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) is a medium-sized falcon.It belongs to the hobby group,a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative,but while they certainly belong to the same lineage,they do not seem to be close sister species.Eleonora's falcon is named after Eleanor of Arborea,Queen (Juighissa) and national heroine of Sardinia,who granted for the first time in history the protection of bird nests against illegal hunters in 1392 under the jurisdiction conferred by the Carta de Logu.The genus name falco is from Late Latin falx,falcis,a sickle,referring to the claws of the bird.The species name eleonorae again commemorates the Sardinian Eleanor of Arborea,who passed a law protecting nesting hawks and falcons.