Ornithologists who were also falconers pioneered peregrine falcon recovery efforts, founding organizations such as the Peregrine Fund, which was very active in captive breeding and wild releases of peregrines. To the Pueblo people of the American Southwest, falcons fill a variety of cultural roles. Because they are swift and tireless, falcons are patrons of ceremonial races run in honor of the sun or to invoke rain. The kestrel's hovering earned it a link to the clowns who, as attendants at ceremonial dances, hover around the edge of gatherings. To the Hopi, the prairie falcon was identified with the god Kisa, a hunting hawk deity said to have invented the curved throwing stick modeled after a falcon's curved wing.
Falcons remain symbols of speed and power in our modern society.
They are the mascots of the Air Force Academy and the icon for Atlanta's professional football team. And for conservationists, the peregrine falcon represents an important success in the battle to save endangered species.