Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Falco peregrinus 3
Much larger (15-20 inches) than the Merlin, the Peregrine Falcon is most easily identified by its slate-gray back, brown-barred breast, and thick black “moustache” stripe. Other field marks include yellow eye-rings, a white throat, and yellow legs. Like most species of raptors, females are larger than males. The Peregrine Falcon inhabits every continent except Antarctica, and elsewhere are only absent from the interiors of tropical forests and large deserts. In North America, this species has a patchy breeding distribution from arctic Canada and Greenland south to central Mexico. In winter, this species is found along the Pacific coast of Alaska and Canada, extreme southeastern Canada, and south through much of the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America. In the Old World, this species is absent only from extremely dry, cold, and remote areas such as the Sahara desert, Central Asia, Iceland, and New Zealand. Peregrine Falcons breed in a number of habitats across North America. These habitats have in common prominent cliffs or ledges for nesting as well as open areas for hunting. Peregrine Falcons are known to breed on tundra, coast, and mountains, and have recently begun nesting on ledges of tall buildings in urban areas. Outside of the breeding season, this species also prefers open areas with prominent perches to aid in hunting. Peregrine Falcons primarily eat small to medium-sized birds, and will also hunt small mammals, including bats. Due to this species’ preference for open habitat, Peregrine Falcons may be most easily seen perched prominently, perhaps in a tall tree or on a cliff face, while watching for prey. This species may also be observed hunting, when it may be seen pursuing and capturing prey with its talons. This species is primarily active during the day.
Conservation status 4
Not Threatened.
Habitat 5
Peregrine falcons prefer open habitats, such as grasslands, tundra, and meadows. They are most common in tundra and coastal areas and rare in sub-tropical and tropical habitats. They nest on cliff faces and crevices. They have recently begun to colonize urban areas because tall buildings are suitable for nesting in this species, and because of the abundance of pigeons as prey items. They have been observed breeding as high as 3600 meters elevation in the Rocky Mountains of North America.
Range elevation: 3600 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: urban
Sources and Credits
- (c) Alvaro Jaramillo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Alvaro Jaramillo
- (c) Mike Baird, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2007/2529508465_55307d8d62_o.jpg
- Adapted by Natalie LaScala from a work by (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818331
- (c) Katerina Tvardikova, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31847231
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31394645
