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| Perlin | |
|---|---|
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| Young perlin after a falconry training session | |
Scientific classification 
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| 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 hybrid 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 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.
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.