Perlin (falconry)
 |
| Perlin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Young perlin after a falconry training session | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Subfamily: | Falconinae |
| Genus: | Falco |
| Species: | |
The word perlin is a falconer's term for a cross breed of a peregrine falcon and a merlin. It is much bigger and faster than a merlin, but is not as big as a peregrine so the quarry it takes varies from larger songbirds to small game birds such as hen pheasant. It is less likely to fly as high as a peregrine and usually rings close to the falconer. As a rule, the peregrine is the father and the merlin is the mother.
Other hybrids may occur, such as 3/4 perlins, where there are 3 parts peregrine to 1 part merlin. Hybrids percentages can be as varied as 50/50 to 7/8 and 15/16 perlins.
See also
 | This Falconiformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |