Male peregrines, which are substantially smaller, will generally catch smaller birds, but females will take larger prey like ducks. Peregrines can eat as much as one-quarter of their weight at one sitting. Reproduction Peregrines usually begin breeding at about 2 years of age. The male will put on an aerial courtship display to attract a mate to a selection of nesting sites. The female chooses.
Peregrines generally mate for life, returning each year to the same area and even the same nest.
However, the female will accept a new mate if the first is killed. There's nothing fancy about the nests. But nowadays, possibly in response to increased human contact during captive breeding projects, many peregrines find homes in man-made structures and more populated areas, using power plant smokestacks, steeples, tall buildings and bridges. Females lay a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs in the spring. The eggs range in color from pink to brownish and are about 2 inches long.