Difference between revisions of "Peregrine Falcon" - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 14:20, 5 December 2017

F. p. peregrinus with prey
Photo by Colin Pass
UK, April 2013

Falco peregrinus

Includes Barbary Falcon, Cape Verde Peregrine Falcon, and Shaheen Falcon

Identification

F. p. macropus
Photo by RMD
Nhulunbuy Northern Territory, Australia

A large, powerful falcon, 34-50 cm (13½-19¾ in) long, 80-120 cm wingspan, and 450-1,500 g weight.

Thick, black moustachial stripe and hood
Sides of neck white
Hooked blue/grey bill with yellow cere
Yellow eye-ring and feet

Adult male slate grey to blackish above; buff barred darker below. Smaller; weight [350]-450-750 g.
Adult female similar plumage but can be browner. Larger; weight [600]-920-1500 g.
Juvenile: dark brown above, streaked below; cere, eye ring and feet greyish

Variations

Marked, in size, mantle shade (mid-grey to nearly black), and head pattern, particularly the width of the moustachial stripe; in general, high latitude subspecies are larger and paler overall, and low latitude birds small (following Bergmann's rule), while dry climate subspecies are pale, and humid climate subspecies darker, to nearly black above (following Gloger's rule). See Subspecies below for more details.

Distribution

Barbary Falcon (F. p. pelegrinoides), immature
Photo by Rashed
Kuwait

Almost worldwide - the most widely distributed bird of any, absent only from New Zealand and polar regions. See taxonomy, below, for more detail by subspecies.

Large areas of Europe and North America lost all or almost all of their Peregrine Falcons for a period in the late 20th century due to combinations of poisoning by persistent toxic pesticides like DDT and illegal persecution; following restrictions on persistent pesticides, reintroduction and natural recovery has allowed populations to recover in most areas, but illegal persecution remains a serious limiting factor in some areas, notably in upland Britain.

Capture of birds for falconry use has also caused losses in some areas. Conversely, the adoption of tall buildings for nest sites has allowed Peregrine Falcons to expand into urban habitats, often in areas which lacked any natural nest sites.

Taxonomy

F. p. pelegrinoides (sometimes together with F. p. babylonicus) has been separated as Barbary Falcon. However, at the moment only IOC accept this split^[1].

Subspecies

Juvenile F. p. anatum
Photo by CurtMorgan
Upstate New York, USA, June 2009

Subspecies cassini
Photo by Luis R
Parcela Araguaney. Santiago de Chile, Chile, January 2017

Shaheen Falcon : Subspecies F. p. peregrinator
Photo by Alok Tewari
Sultanpur Flats, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, November-2017

19 subspecies are currently recognised^[2]:

F. p. anatum

North America (south of tundra) to northern Mexico. Similar to nominate.

F. p. tundrius

Arctic tundra of North America (Alaska to Greenland) Very large, pale.

F. p. calidus

Tundra of Eurasia (Lapland to northeast Siberia). Very large, pale.

F. p. pealei

Coastal western North America (Aleutian Islands to Washington). Large, dark.

F. p. cassini

Western South America (Ecuador to Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Islands). Variable, some dark, others (formerly sometimes split as subspecies kreyenborgi) much paler.

F. p. japonensis

Northeast Siberia to Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan.

F. p. furuitii

On the Volcano Islands and Bonin Islands east of Japan.

F. p. peregrinus

Northern Eurasia (south of the tundra). Fairly large (male 580-750 g, female 920-1300 g); slate grey above, grey barred below with variable buff wash on breast.

F. p. brookei

Mediterranean basin east to the Caucasus Mountains. Smaller than nominate (male 445 g, female 800-920 g); plumage similar but with slightly darker breast.

F. p. pelegrinoides - Barbary Falcon

Canary Islands and north Africa (Morocco) to west Iran. Small (male 330-400 g, female 500-850 g, only about half the weight of F. p. calidus); pale, with narrower moustachial stripe, forecrown black, rear crown rusty red-brown, whitish breast weakly barred with brown bars, mantle mid to pale grey.

F. p. babylonicus - Barbary Falcon

Eastern Iran to Mongolia. Small; very pale, with weak moustachial stripe, forecrown grey, rear crown orangey-brown, whitish breast, and pale grey mantle.

F. p. madens

Cape Verde Islands.

F. p. minor

Southernmost Morocco to Mauritania and Africa south of the Sahara.

F. p. radama

Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.

F. p. peregrinator - Shaheen Falcon

Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka to southeast China. Fairly small; very dark, nearly black above, rich orange-brown below.

F. p. ernesti

Thai-Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Greater Sundas, New Guinea, and Bismarck Archipelago; birds on the Solomon Islands are probably also this subspecies. Fairly small; very dark, nearly black above; extensive hood with very broad moustachial stripe joining rear crown, heavily barred blackish below.

F. p. nesiotes

Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

F. p. macropus

Australia (except for southwestern part). Fairly small; extensive hood with very broad moustachial stripe joining rear crown; dark grey mantle, underparts barred black on buff.

F. p. submelanogenys

Southwestern Australia. Included in F. p. macropus by some authorities, and very similar to it.

Habitat

Cliff faces for breeding, hunts over cultivated land and grassland, marshes and wetlands, beaches and the sea. Also increasingly using urban areas to nest/breed on buildings.

Behaviour

Flight

Takes prey mainly in the air, using height advantage to gain speed. Typically employs a high speed steep dive (stoop), where reported speeds exceed 200 km/h. Uses the long, 'elasticated' hind toe to hit the bird without injuring itself; the impact of this often kills the prey outright. Also pursues prey such as Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove in flight using speed from a dive and rapid jinking manoeuvering. Only rarely takes prey on the ground or on water.

Diet

The diet includes a wide range of birds, such as doves, waterfowl and songbirds, including birds as large as Great Black-backed Gull and Brant Goose, up to 2 kg weight. Occasionally hunts small mammals, including bats, rats, voles and rabbits. Insects and reptiles make up a relatively small proportion of their diet. Exceptionally, Peregrine Falcons have been known to eat their own chicks when starving.

Breeding

A scrape on a cliff ledge is made and 3-4 eggs are laid. The females incubate the eggs for 29-32 days. Chicks fledge 35-42 days after hatching. It is increasingly using urban high-rise buildings and churches for nest/breeding sites, to prey largely on Feral Pigeons.

Movements

Most of the subspecies are resident, but F. p. calidus and F. p. tundrius migrate long distances south to avoid the arctic winters experienced in their breeding ranges.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Falco peregrinus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

Gill, F. and Donsker, D. (Eds). 2017. IOC World Bird Names (version 7.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334153
Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Peregrine Falcon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Peregrine_Falcon

External Links

Search for photos of Peregrine Falcon in the gallery

Search for videos of Peregrine Falcon on BirdForum TV

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Peregrine_Falcon&oldid=228824’

Categories:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Falco peregrinus
+[[Image:Peregrine with prey.jpg|thumb|550px|right|''F. p. peregrinus'' with prey<br />Photo by {{user|acorn|Colin Pass}}<br/ >[[UK]], April 2013]]
-[[Image:Peregrine_Falcon.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by RMD
+;[[:Category:Falco|Falco]] peregrinus
-Nhulunbuy NT, Australia.]]
+'''Includes Barbary Falcon, Cape Verde Peregrine Falcon, and Shaheen Falcon'''
+==Identification==
+[[Image:Peregrine_Falcon.jpg|thumb|350px|right|''F. p. macropus''<br/>Photo by {{user|RMD|RMD}}<br/>Nhulunbuy [[Northern Territory]], [[Australia]]]]
+A large, powerful falcon, 34-50 cm (13½-19¾ in) long, 80-120 cm wingspan, and 450-1,500 g weight.
+*Thick, black moustachial stripe and hood
+*Sides of neck white
+*Hooked blue/grey bill with yellow [[Topography#Heads|cere]]
+*Yellow eye-ring and feet
+'''Adult male''' slate grey to blackish above; buff barred darker below. Smaller; weight [350]-450-750 g.<br />
+'''Adult female''' similar plumage but can be browner. Larger; weight [600]-920-1500 g.<br />
+'''Juvenile''': dark brown above, streaked below; cere, eye ring and feet greyish
+====Variations====
+Marked, in size, mantle shade (mid-grey to nearly black), and head pattern, particularly the width of the moustachial stripe; in general, high latitude subspecies are larger and paler overall, and low latitude birds small (following [[Dictionary_A-C#B|Bergmann's rule]]), while dry climate subspecies are pale, and humid climate subspecies darker, to nearly black above (following [[Dictionary_G-L#G|Gloger's rule]]). See '''Subspecies''' below for more details.
+==Distribution==
+[[Image:BARBARYFALCON.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Barbary Falcon (''F. p. pelegrinoides''), immature<br />Photo by {{user|RASHED|Rashed}}<br />[[Kuwait]]]]
+Almost worldwide - the most widely distributed bird of any, absent only from New Zealand and polar regions. See taxonomy, below, for more detail by subspecies.
-==Range==
+Large areas of [[Europe]] and [[North America]] lost all or almost all of their Peregrine Falcons for a period in the late 20th century due to combinations of poisoning by persistent toxic pesticides like DDT and illegal persecution; following restrictions on persistent pesticides, reintroduction and natural recovery has allowed populations to recover in most areas, but illegal persecution remains a serious limiting factor in some areas, notably in upland [[Britain]].
-'''North Central and South America, Eurasia, Africa and Australasia.'''
-In North America breeds in Alaska, northern and western Canada and western coastal Greenland. In the USA breeds on the Pacific coast and in the Rocky Mts south to Arizona. More widespread in winter in the southern and eastern USA. In Mexico breeds in Baja California and on islands in the Gulf of California, possibly also in the mountains of central America. Rare migrant and winter visitor elsewhere in Central America, in the West Indies and the coast of northern South America. Breeds in South America in southern parts of Chile and Argentina and on the Falkland Islands and migrate north through the Andes to Colombia, possibly Venezuela.
+Capture of birds for falconry use has also caused losses in some areas. Conversely, the adoption of tall buildings for nest sites has allowed Peregrine Falcons to expand into urban habitats, often in areas which lacked any natural nest sites.
+==Taxonomy==
-Widespread over much of Eurasia but range very patchy in some areas and populations low in many countries. A summer visitor to northern Scandinavia and across northern Russia including southern Novaya Zemlya. Resident, partial migrant or dispersive in remainder of range. Breeds in the British Isles, especially coastal Ireland and north and west Scotland, parts of southern France and the Alps and over much of Iberia, Italy and the western Mediterranean islands. Further east breeds in Poland and Belarus, Slovakia, patchily in the Balkans and Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and the Caucasus. In North Africa mainly coastal in range from north Morocco to Tunisia. The first breeding for the Channel Islands since the 1950s took place in 1997 and the first for Denmark since 1969 occurred in 2002. In winter much more widespread and occurs from lowland Britain south to the Mediterranean and east to the Caspian. Vagrants have been recorded in Iceland and the Faroes, the Azores and Madeira.
+''F. p. pelegrinoides'' (sometimes together with ''F. p. babylonicus'') has been separated as '''Barbary Falcon'''. However, at the moment only IOC accept this split<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
+====Subspecies====
-Breeds across northern Asia from the Urals to the Russian Far East, Kamchatka and Sakhalin. Also breeds in Japan, Korea and much of China. Absent from much of Central Asia but widespread in the south from the southern Arabian Peninsula to India and southern China. Northern populations are migratory and winter within breeding range of southern birds and throughout South-East Asia. Breeds in the Philippines, mountain areas of north Borneo and Sulawesi, north and west Sumatra, Java and Bali.
+[[Image:Peregrine juv.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile ''F. p. anatum''<br/>Photo by {{user|CurtMorgan|CurtMorgan}}<br/ >Upstate [[New York]], [[USA]], June 2009]]
+[[Image:Peregrino 17 copy.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Subspecies ''cassini''<br />Photo by {{user|Luis+R|Luis R}}<br />Parcela Araguaney. Santiago de Chile, [[Chile]], January 2017]]
-Also breeds in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands and in much of Australia and Tasmania but scarce in the arid interior of the continent.
+[[Image:peregrine_falcon_alok.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Shaheen Falcon : Subspecies ''F. p. peregrinator''<br />Photo by {{user|aloktewari|Alok Tewari}}<br/ >Sultanpur Flats, Gurgaon, Haryana, [[India]], November-2017]]
-Populations in many areas are now recovering after the pesticide-induced crash of the twentieth century.
+subspecies are currently recognised<sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup>:
+*''F. p. anatum''
-In sub-Saharan Africa ranges from Ghana to northern Ethiopia and south to the Cape and breeds on the Cape Verde Islands and Madagascar.
+:*[[North America]] (south of tundra) to northern [[Mexico]]. Similar to nominate.
+*''F. p. tundrius''
+:*Arctic tundra of [[North America]] ([[Alaska]] to [[Greenland]]) Very large, pale.
+*''F. p. calidus''
+:*Tundra of [[Eurasia]] (Lapland to northeast Siberia). Very large, pale.
+*''F. p. pealei''
+:*Coastal western [[North America]] (Aleutian Islands to Washington). Large, dark.
+*''F. p. cassini''
+:*Western [[South America]] ([[Ecuador]] to Tierra del Fuego and [[Falkland Islands]]). Variable, some dark, others (formerly sometimes split as subspecies ''kreyenborgi'') much paler.
+*''F. p. japonensis''
+:*Northeast [[Siberia]] to Kamchatka Peninsula and [[Japan]].
+*''F. p. furuitii''
+:*On the Volcano Islands and Bonin Islands east of [[Japan]].
+*''F. p. peregrinus''
+:*Northern [[Eurasia]] (south of the tundra). Fairly large (male 580-750 g, female 920-1300 g); slate grey above, grey barred below with variable buff wash on breast.
+*''F. p. brookei''
+:*Mediterranean basin east to the Caucasus Mountains. Smaller than nominate (male 445 g, female 800-920 g); plumage similar but with slightly darker breast.
+*''F. p. pelegrinoides'' - '''Barbary Falcon'''
+:*[[Canary Islands]] and north [[Africa]] ([[Morocco]]) to west [[Iran]]. Small (male 330-400 g, female 500-850 g, only about half the weight of ''F. p. calidus''); pale, with narrower moustachial stripe, forecrown black, rear crown rusty red-brown, whitish breast weakly barred with brown bars, mantle mid to pale grey.
+*''F. p. babylonicus'' - '''Barbary Falcon'''
+:*Eastern [[Iran]] to [[Mongolia]]. Small; very pale, with weak moustachial stripe, forecrown grey, rear crown orangey-brown, whitish breast, and pale grey mantle.
+*''F. p. madens''
+:*[[Cape Verde Islands]].
+*''F. p. minor''
+:*Southernmost [[Morocco]] to [[Mauritania]] and [[Africa]] south of the Sahara.
+*''F. p. radama''
+:*[[Madagascar]] and the Comoro Islands.
+*''F. p. peregrinator'' - '''Shaheen Falcon'''
+:*[[Pakistan]], [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]] to southeast [[China]]. Fairly small; very dark, nearly black above, rich orange-brown below.
+*''F. p. ernesti''
+:*Thai-Malay Peninsula, [[Philippines]], [[Greater Sundas]], [[New Guinea]], and [[Bismarck Archipelago]]; birds on the [[Solomon Islands]] are probably also this subspecies. Fairly small; very dark, nearly black above; extensive hood with very broad moustachial stripe joining rear crown, heavily barred blackish below.
+*''F. p. nesiotes''
+:*[[Vanuatu]] and [[New Caledonia]].
+*''F. p. macropus''
+:*[[Australia]] (except for southwestern part). Fairly small; extensive hood with very broad moustachial stripe joining rear crown; dark grey mantle, underparts barred black on buff.
+*''F. p. submelanogenys''
+:*Southwestern [[Australia]]. Included in ''F. p. macropus'' by some authorities, and very similar to it.
 ==Habitat==
-Usually requires cliff-faces for breeding, along coasts and inland but uses trees in some areas. Hunts over a range of open habitats including cultivated land and grassland, marshes and wetlands, beaches and the sea, anywhere that attracts large numbers of birds to prey upon.
+Cliff faces for breeding, hunts over cultivated land and grassland, marshes and wetlands, beaches and the sea. Also increasingly using urban areas to nest/breed on buildings.
+==Behaviour==
-==Subspecies==
+====Flight====
-About 17 races are recognised: In North America F. p. anatum breeds across much of the continent, pealei on the Pacific coast and tundrius in the far north. Race cassini breeds in southern South America. The nominate race peregrinus breeds over Europe and western Asia, calidus in Siberia and japonensis in eastern Asia. F. p. brookei breeds around the Mediterranean and peregrinator from India to southern China. Tropical African race is minor, madens breeds on the Cape Verde Islands and radama in Madagascar and the Comoros. F. p. ernesti breeds in the Philippines, Indonesia and New Guinea, nesiotis in Vanuatu, the Loyalty Islanbds and New Caledonia, furuitii on Volcano Island, macropus in Australia and submelanogenys in south-west Australia.
+Takes prey mainly in the air, using height advantage to gain speed. Typically employs a high speed steep dive (stoop), where reported speeds exceed 200 km/h. Uses the long, 'elasticated' hind toe to hit the bird without injuring itself; the impact of this often kills the prey outright. Also pursues prey such as [[Feral Pigeon]]/[[Rock Dove]] in flight using speed from a dive and rapid jinking manoeuvering. Only rarely takes prey on the ground or on water.
+====Diet====
-==First breeding in CHANNEL ISLANDS.==
+The diet includes a wide range of birds, such as doves, waterfowl and songbirds, including birds as large as [[Great Black-backed Gull]] and [[Brant Goose]], up to 2 kg weight. Occasionally hunts small mammals, including bats, rats, voles and rabbits. Insects and reptiles make up a relatively small proportion of their diet. Exceptionally, Peregrine Falcons have been known to eat their own chicks when starving.
-I discovered Peregrines breeding in Guernsey in the Channel Islands on 28/6/1997 when they raised 2 young. Records can be found at 'La Societe Guernesiaise' ornithological section, Guernsey. I monitored the Peregrines from 1997 to 2003. Year 2000 as first year breeding since 1959 is incorrect.
+====Breeding====
+A scrape on a cliff ledge is made and 3-4 eggs are laid. The females incubate the eggs for 29-32 days. Chicks fledge 35-42 days after hatching. It is increasingly using urban high-rise buildings and churches for nest/breeding sites, to prey largely on [[Feral Pigeon]]s.
-''Originally posted by '''graham.v'''''
+====Movements====
+Most of the subspecies are resident, but ''F. p. calidus'' and ''F. p. tundrius'' migrate long distances south to avoid the arctic winters experienced in their breeding ranges.
-==Bird Song==
+====Vocalisation====
 <flashmp3>Falco peregrinus (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
 ''[[Media:Falco peregrinus (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
+==References==
+#{{Ref-GillDonsker17V7.3}}#{{Ref-Clements6thAug17}}#{{Ref-HBWVol2}}#Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?si=Falco+peregrinus&x=20&y=12&perpage=12&sort=1&cat=all&ppuser=&friendemail=email%40yourfriend.com&password= View more images of Peregrine Falcon in the gallery]
+*[http://avis.indianbiodiversity.org/falconiformes-falconidae-falcons/peregrine-falcon-falco-peregrinus.html Specie Profile Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) - AVIS-IBIS]
-[[Category:Birds]]
+*[http://avis.indianbiodiversity.org/bibliography-of-falconiformes-falconidae-falcons/bibliography-of-peregrine-falcon-falco-peregrinus.html Bibliography of Peregrine Falcon - AVIS-IBIS]
+{{GSearch|Falco+peregrinus Use peregrinus to}}
+<br />
+{{GSearch|Falco+pelegrinoides Use pelegrinoides to}}
+<br />
+{{Video|Peregrine}}
+<!--Note for Editors: Video search is for "Peregrine only". Peregrine_Falcon finds only 1 video-->
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Falco]][[Category:Bird Songs]][[Category:Videos]]