Brown Rat vs Duck Hawk

Rattus norvegicus compared with Falco peregrinus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Duck Hawk
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Falconiformes (Falconiformes)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Falconidae
Genus	Rattus	Falco
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Falco peregrinus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Duck Hawk share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Duck Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~140.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Duck Hawk
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	48 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (15 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (10 countries), and South America (10 countries).

Duck Hawk

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Brown Rat

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Duck Hawk

The fastest animal on the planet, peregrine falcons achieve aerial dive speeds exceeding 320 km/h when stooping on prey, stunning or killing birds in flight with a blow from their feet. Found on every continent except Antarctica in diverse habitats from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforest. Nearly extinct in North America and Europe from DDT poisoning in the 1960s–70s, peregrines recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and successful urban nesting programs.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 11 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇺🇸 United States 🇻🇪 Venezuela