As well as having such a wide spread range, they migrate. The peregrines that we see in the Willamette Valley travel to Central America and northern South America every fall, and then back again every spring. Juveniles travel far from their birth site, to find a place to nest, but then they usually tend to use the same nesting site each year. Peregrines like to live in wetlands, alpine meadows, or tundra habitat. They lay two to four eggs every year, however, only one or two out of every 10 eggs that hatch survive to maturity.
Peregrines are one of the fastest animals on earth.
They have been clocked at speeds up to 220 miles per hour. They use this ability to hunt their prey, hitting unsuspecting ducks, pheasants, or pigeons from the air. The peregrine's dark back and light breast, which looks barred, identifies this raptor. They have yellow feet, beaks, and eye-rings. They are approximately the size of an adult crow.