Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Order : Falconiformes

Family : Falconidae ;

Biometrics :

Size : 34 à 49 cm
Wingspan : 95 à 115 cm
Weight : Femelle : 900 à 1300 g ; Mâle : 600 à 750 g

Longevity : 16 years

IUCN conservation status :

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

Geographic range :

Synonyms : Sapsan (ru), Pilgrimsfalk (sv), Halcón común (es), Pellegrino (it), Wanderfalke (al), Slechtvalk (nl), Peregrine Falcon (en)

Physical description :
Peregrine Falcon adult male has dark bluish-grey upperparts, with paler area on lower back to uppertail coverts. Tail is long, with grey and white bands.
Underparts are whitish on upper breast and throat. Lower breast, belly and vent are greyish, with extensive black barring. Underwings are barred black and white. Wings are long and pointed.
Peregrine Falcon has black crown and nape, and black moustache contrasting with white cheeks. Eyes are dark with broad yellow eyering. Bill is grey with black tip and yellow cere. Legs and feet are yellow.
Both sexes are similar, with female larger than male.
Juvenile is brown overall. Underparts are yellowish-buff, streaked with dark. It has pale edges on brown feathers on upperparts. Cere and eyering are duller than adults.

Voice :
Sound from CD 'Tous les Oiseaux d'Europe' by Jean C. Roché by courtesy of Sittelle and CEBA. Peregrine Falcon is usually silent, except near the nest. Its frequent call is a loud, harsh, scolding 'ka-yak, ka-yak, ka-yak...' becoming a shrill 'kek-kek-kek' when alarmed.

Habitat : Peregrine Falcon breeds on cliffs and crevices, mountains, sea costs and now, they begin to nest on tall buildings in urban areas. They may breed as high as 3600 metres, observed in Rocky Mountains, in North America.
In winter, they live in open lowlands, estuaries and wetlands.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Peregrine Falcon is found in all parts of the world, except in cold and dry Arctic regions and rainforests. Most of populations are resident and do not migrate. Birds from north and north east are migratory.

Behaviour : Peregrine Falcon hunts mainly at dawn and dusk. It strikes and captures birds in mid-air, in open space. We can often see them hunting over open water, marshes, fields and tundra.
It may hunt from the wing or from a high perch. It spots its prey with its keen sight, and then, it starts its stoop, a streamlined dive, with tail and wings folded, and feet lying back, ready to hit the prey with its foot. It stuns or kills it and it swoops back to catch it in mid-air. When prey is too heavy, Peregrine Falcon lets it fall to the ground, and eats it there. It plucks its prey before to eat.
They often miss their strikes and prey escapes.
Peregrine Falcon soars to a great high, and dives at speeds about 200 to 240 mph. It controls its dive, captures and lands in its own right. It may also hunt on the ground, on foot, to capture lizards, insects or mammals.
Peregrine Falcons mate for life, and return to the same nesting site year after year. Courtship displays are spectacular, with wonderful aerial displays. Male and female climbs high in the air in order to perform an acrobatic flight, with whirling spirals and rapid dives, often touching in mid-air by talons, plumage or bill.
They roost close to each other, and male performs some preen, nibbles the female's toes, and grabs the female's bill in its own. Once pair is formed, they hunt together and female begs food from the male.
Peregrine Falcon is aggressive when it defends the nest. It may attack large birds and mammals.

Flight : Peregrine Falcon has direct and powerful flight, with shallow wing beats. When it is soaring or performing direct or circled flights, wings are horizontal with slightly raised hand, forming a flat V. Its flight is very rapid, and when it dives, it may reach a speed of 240 mph.

Reproduction-nesting : Peregrine Falcon breeds from late February to mid-April. Male selects the nest-site, and pair returns year after year to the same place. They nest mainly on high cliffs, but also in towns, on ledges of skyscrapers.
Nest is a scrape, in sand or vegetation, lined with some fine materials.
Female lays 3 to 5 creamy-white eggs, speckled with red-brown, every 48 hours. Incubation lasts about 29 to 32 days, mainly by female, but males helps sometimes. Male brings food at nest during this period.
Chicks are covered with creamy-white down, and they have large feet. Male hunts for chicks and female. Female feeds the young, plucking feathers from the prey before giving to them.
Young fledge at about 35 to 45 days of age, and remain with adults for several weeks more. Young learn how to snatch some prey from parents in mid-air. They become independent at about six weeks. They reach their sexual maturity when they are 2 to 3 years old.
This species produces only one brood per year, sometimes two if the first is lost soon after laying. Second brood may be attempted after two weeks.

Food habits : Peregrine Falcon feeds mainly on birds, such as doves, pigeons, shorebirds, waterfowls, grouses and small songbirds. They also may eat small reptiles and mammals, such as bats, rodents, squirrels and rats. Small prey is eaten in flight.

Protection / threats : Peregrine Falcons adults may be killed by large birds, such as Great-Horned Owls, and Golden Eagles. Chicks and young are killed by cats, bears or foxes. Eggs are taken by humans for falconry.
Peregrine Falcon is vulnerable to pesticides, because it is almost at the top of the food chain.

Other links :
Iucn
Birdlife