Peregrine Falcon

## Description

The Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a large cosmopolitan raptor in the family Falconidae. It is renowned for its speed during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV program, the highest measured speed of a Peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph). This is a well-respected falconry bird due to its strong hunting ability, high trainability, versatility, and availability via captive breeding. It is effective on most game bird species, from small to large. It has also been used as a religious, royal, or national symbol across multiple eras and areas of human civilization.

## Appearance

The male and female of this species have similar markings and plumage but, as with many birds of prey, the female measures up to 30% larger than the male. The back and the long pointed wings of the adult Peregrine falcon are usually bluish-black to slate grey with indistinct darker barring; the wingtips are black. The white to rusty underparts are barred with thin clean bands of dark brown or black. The tail colored like the back but with thin clean bars, is long, narrow, and rounded at the end with a black tip and a white band at the very end. The top of the head and a "mustache" along the cheeks are black, contrasting sharply with the pale sides of the neck and white throat. The cere is yellow, as are the feet, and the beak and claws are black. The upper beak is notched near the tip, an adaptation that enables falcons to kill prey by severing the spinal column at the neck. An immature Peregrine falcon is much browner, with streaked, rather than barred, underparts, and has a pale bluish cere and orbital ring.

## Distribution

Peregrine falcons can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except in extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. These birds live mostly along mountain ranges, cliffs, river valleys, coastlines, and increasingly in cities. They prefer open habitats, from tundra to desert mountains, including grasslands, savannah, meadows, and shrubland. In mild-winter regions, they are usually a permanent resident, and some individuals, especially adult males, will remain in the breeding territory. Only populations that breed in Arctic climates typically migrate great distances during the northern winter.

## Behavior

Peregrine falcons are not very social birds; outside of the breeding season, they are often seen singly or in pairs. These birds are active during the day but hunt most often at dawn and dusk when prey are most active. Peregrines require open space for hunting and searching for prey either from a high perch or from the air. Once prey is spotted, these hunters begin their stoop, folding back the tail and wings, with feet tucked. Prey is typically struck and captured in mid-air; Peregrine falcons strike their prey with a clenched foot, stunning or killing it with the impact, then turn to catch it in mid-air. If their prey is too heavy to carry, peregrines will drop it to the ground and eat it there. If they miss the initial strike, they will chase their prey in a twisting flight. Peregrines may also surprise and ambush prey on the ground, and in rare cases even pursue the prey on foot. Breeding pairs may hunt together and the female often catches larger prey. Peregrine falcons are generally silent birds but when near the nest, they usually produce a rasping "kack-kack-kack-kack" call.

## Diet

Peregrine falcons are carnivores and feed almost exclusively on medium-sized birds such as pigeons and doves, waterfowl, songbirds, and waders. On occasion, they will also take bats, rats, voles, hares, shrews, mice, squirrels, insects, and reptiles.

## Reproduction

Peregrine falcons are monogamous breeders. A pair mates for life and returns to the same nesting spot annually. During the breeding season, these birds are territorial and nesting pairs are usually more than 1 km (0.62 mi) apart. Pairs perform courtship flight that includes a mix of aerial acrobatics, precise spirals, and steep dives. The male passes prey it has caught to the female in mid-air. Peregrine falcons nest in a scrape, normally on cliff edges. The female chooses a nest site, where she scrapes a shallow hollow in the loose soil, sand, gravel, or dead vegetation in which to lay eggs. No nest materials are added. Cliff nests are generally located under an overhang, on ledges with vegetation. Egg-laying usually occurs from February to March in the Northern Hemisphere, and from July to August in the Southern Hemisphere; the Australian subspecies may breed as late as November, and equatorial populations may nest anytime between June and December. The female lays 3 to 5 white-to-buff eggs with red or brown markings. They are incubated for 29 to 33 days, mainly by the female; the male also helps with the incubation of the eggs during the day. After hatching, the chicks are covered with creamy-white down and have disproportionately large feet. They fledge 42 to 46 days after hatching and remain dependent on their parents for up to 2 months. Peregrine falcons usually reach reproductive maturity at 1 to 3 years of age, but in larger populations, they breed after 2 to 3 years of age.

## Population

### Population threats

The Peregrine falcon became an endangered species in many areas because of the widespread use of certain pesticides, especially DDT. Since the ban on DDT in the early 1970s, populations have recovered, supported by large-scale protection of nesting places and releases to the wild. Apart from such anthropogenic threats as collisions with human-made objects, Peregrine falcons may also be killed by larger hawks and owls. In some areas of their range, these birds also suffer from habitat degradation through wood harvesting, overgrazing, and burning. Human disturbance such as rock climbing activities poses another threat as disturbed nesting birds are forced to leave their nests.

### Population number

According to the IUCN Red List, the total Peregrine falcon population size is around 100,000-499,999 mature individuals. The European population includes 14,900-28,800 pairs, which equates to 29,700-57,600 mature individuals. According to the All About Birds resource, the total breeding population size of the species is 140,000 individuals. Overall, currently, Peregrine falcons are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and their numbers today are increasing.

### Ecological niche

Peregrine falcons play an important role in their ecosystem; due to their diet habits, these birds control populations of their prey such as pigeons, doves, ptarmigans, and ducks.

## Fun Facts

The Peregrine falcon is the world's most widespread raptor, and one of the most widely found bird species.

The Peregrine falcon is a highly admired falconry bird and has been used in falconry for more than 3,000 years, beginning with nomads in central Asia. Perhaps because of their amazing flying and hunting skills, Peregrine falcons have had cultural significance for humans throughout history. To this day, they are still one of the most popular birds in the sport of falconry, and in ancient times they were considered the birds of royalty.

The Peregrine falcon reaches faster speeds than any other animal on the planet when performing its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive); this involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph), hitting one wing of its prey so as not to harm itself on impact. The air pressure from such a dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but due to special adaptation, the bird is able to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure. To protect their eyes, falcons use their nictitating membranes (third eyelids) to spread tears and clear debris from their eyes while maintaining vision.

Peregrine falcons handled by falconers are also occasionally used to scare away birds at airports to reduce the risk of bird-plane strikes, improving air-traffic safety. They were also used to intercept homing pigeons during World War II.

The Peregrine falcon is the national animal of the United Arab Emirates.