The word perlin is a falconer's term for a hybrid of a peregrine falcon and a merlin.[1] 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 pheasants. 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.

Perlin
Young perlin after a falconry training session
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Subfamily: Falconinae
Genus: Falco
Species:

Other hybrids may occur, such as 3/4 perlins, where there are three parts peregrine to one part merlin. Hybrids' percentages can be as varied as 50/50 to 7/8 and 15/16 perlins.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sarasola, José Hernán; Negro, Juan José; Grande, Juan Manuel, eds. (30 June 2018). Birds of Prey: Biology and Conservation in the XXI Century. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-31-973745-4.