Duck Hawk vs Fat Sand Rat

Falco peregrinus compared with Psammomys obesus

Taxonomic Classification

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

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Duck Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~140.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Fat Sand Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Fat Sand Rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.