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# Peregrine Falcon

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- Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine falcons are about the size of a crow; 15 to 21 inches long. They have a wing span of about 40 inches. Peregrine falcons are medium size falcons. Adult peregrine falcons have slate blue grey wings and backs barred with black. Their undersides are white with light brown stripes; white faces with a black stripe on each cheek and the head is blue-black. They have large dark eyes. The younger birds are darker below and browner. The name for the peregrine in Latin, peregrinus, means "foreigner" or "traveler". The females are larger than the males.

They eat mostly other birds such as shore birds, song birds, and ducks. In urban areas they also eat starlings and pigeons. They attack their prey by flying higher then them and diving at them. A peregrine can dive over 200 miles per hour.

If a peregrine falcon can live through the first year, they can live up to 10 years. Most do not survive their first year.

- Habitat

They live mostly along mountain ranges, river valleys, and coast lines. Peregrine falcons used to be most commonly found in parts of the Appalachian Mountains and nearby valleys from New England south to Georgia, the upper Mississippi River valley, and the Rocky Mountains. They also inhabited along the Pacific Coast from Mexico north to the Arctic Tundra.

The nest is a scrape or depression dug in gravel on a cliff ledge . Sometimes the peregrines will nest in a tree cavity or in an old stick nest. The female will usually lay 3 to 5 eggs. The color ranges from white reddish to molten brown.

- Endangered

The peregrine falcons become endangered because of pesticides. The pesticides interfered with reproduction ( making it so that babies would not be born). The peregrine falcon became extinct in eastern North America because of the pesticides. In 1970, peregrine falcons were put on the endangered list.

- Recovery Efforts

The US Fish and Wildlife Services made peregrine falcon recovery teams of federal, state and independent biologists. They breed and raise peregrine falcons in captivity at Cornell University. To release a captive bred falcon, the bird was placed in a special box at the top of a tower or cliff ledge. The birds were fed through a chute so they could not see the human trainers. Then, when they were old enough, the box was opened. This allowed the bird to test its wings. As the bird got stronger the food was reduced because the bird could hunt its own food. This is called hacking.

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Last edited March 28, 2001 6:13 am (diff)
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