Laughing Falcon - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Its English name comes from its loud voice, as does the specific name cachinnans, Latin for "laughing aloud" or "laughing immoderately". The generic name Herpetotheres refers to its preferred food; it is Latinized Ancient Greek, derived from erpeton (ἑρπετόν, "reptile") + therizein (θερίζειν, "to mow down").

Its relationships with other members of the Falconidae are unclear. Traditionally it has been placed in the subfamily Polyborinae with the caracaras and forest falcons, but the American Ornithologists' Union's North American Check-list Committee now places it in the same subfamily as the true falcons, while the South American Check-list Committee places it with the forest falcons but not the caracaras, and it has also been considered a subfamily of its own.