Duck Hawk vs Leatherback Sea Turtle

Falco peregrinus compared with Dermochelys coriacea

Key Differences

• Duck Hawk is Least Concern while Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable.
• Leatherback Sea Turtle is 500.0x heavier than Duck Hawk.
• Leatherback Sea Turtle lives longer (50 years vs 15 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Duck Hawk	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Falconiformes (Falconiformes)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Falconidae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Falco	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Falco peregrinus	Dermochelys coriacea

Evolutionary Relationship

Duck Hawk and Leatherback Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Duck Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~140.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Duck Hawk	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	15 years	50 years
Average Length	48 cm	2.0 m
Average Weight	1.0 kg	500.0 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).

Leatherback Sea Turtle

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 5 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

The leatherback is the largest living turtle and the fourth-heaviest reptile. Unlike other turtles, it has a soft, leathery shell.