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Nhulunbuy NT, Australia.]] | Nhulunbuy NT, Australia.]] | ||
| − | == | + | ==Identification== |
| − | + | The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), occasionally known in North America as the Duck Hawk, is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow: 380–530 millimetres (15–21 in) long. The English and scientific species names mean "wandering falcon", and refer to the fact that some populations are migratory. It has a wingspan of about 1 m (40 in). Males weigh 570–710 grams; the noticeably larger females weigh 910–1190 grams. | |
| + | The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop, in which it soars to a great height, then dives steeply at speeds of over 200 mph (322 km/h) into either wing of its prey, so as not to harm itself on impact. The fledglings practice the roll and the pumping of the wings before they master the actual stoop. It should be noted, however, that in level flight the fastest-flying bird is the White-throated Needletail and either animal is often quoted as being the fastest on earth. | ||
| + | ==Distribution== | ||
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. | 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. | ||
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In sub-Saharan Africa ranges from Ghana to northern Ethiopia and south to the Cape and breeds on the Cape Verde Islands and Madagascar. | In sub-Saharan Africa ranges from Ghana to northern Ethiopia and south to the Cape and breeds on the Cape Verde Islands and Madagascar. | ||
| + | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| + | 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. | ||
==Habitat== | ==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. | 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. | ||
| + | ==Behaviour== | ||
| + | Peregrine Falcons feed almost exclusively on birds, such as doves, waterfowl and songbirds, but occasionally they hunt small mammals, including bats, rats, voles and rabbits. Insects and reptiles make up a relatively small proportion of their diet. Peregrine Falcons also eat their own chicks when starving. | ||
| − | + | Peregrine Falcons breed at approximately two or three years of age. They mate for life and return to the same nesting spot annually. Their courtship flight includes a mix of aerial acrobatics, precise spirals, and steep dives. The male passes prey it has caught to the female in mid-air. To make this possible, the female actually flies upside-down to receive the food from the male's talons. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | Females lay an average clutch of three or four eggs in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, increasingly, on tall buildings or bridges. They occasionally nest in tree hollows or in the disused nest of other large birds. | |
| − | + | ||
| + | The man-made structures used for breeding typically closely resemble the natural cliff ledges that the Peregrine prefers for its nesting locations. The falcons have also been observed swooping down to catch common city birds such as pigeons and Common Starlings. In many cities, the Peregrines have been credited with controlling the numbers of such birds, which have often become pests, without resort to more controversial methods such as poisoning or hunting. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The laying date varies according to locality, but is generally: | ||
| + | |||
| + | from February to March (in the Northern Hemisphere) | ||
| + | from July to August (in the Southern Hemisphere) | ||
| + | The females incubate the eggs for twenty-nine to thirty-two days at which point the eggs hatch. While the males also sometimes help with the incubation of the eggs, they only do so occasionally and for short periods. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Thirty-five to forty-two days after hatching, the chicks will fledge, but they tend to remain dependent on their parents for a further two months. The tiercel, or male, provides most of the food for himself, the female, and the chicks; the falcon, or female, stays and watches the young. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The average life span of a Peregrine Falcon is up to seventeen years in the wild, although some have been recorded to live until slightly more than twenty years of age. | ||
| − | |||
==Bird Song== | ==Bird Song== | ||
Revision as of 15:54, 19 July 2007
- Falco peregrinus
Identification
The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), occasionally known in North America as the Duck Hawk, is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow: 380–530 millimetres (15–21 in) long. The English and scientific species names mean "wandering falcon", and refer to the fact that some populations are migratory. It has a wingspan of about 1 m (40 in). Males weigh 570–710 grams; the noticeably larger females weigh 910–1190 grams.
The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop, in which it soars to a great height, then dives steeply at speeds of over 200 mph (322 km/h) into either wing of its prey, so as not to harm itself on impact. The fledglings practice the roll and the pumping of the wings before they master the actual stoop. It should be noted, however, that in level flight the fastest-flying bird is the White-throated Needletail and either animal is often quoted as being the fastest on earth.
Distribution
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.
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.
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.
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. Populations in many areas are now recovering after the pesticide-induced crash of the twentieth century.
In sub-Saharan Africa ranges from Ghana to northern Ethiopia and south to the Cape and breeds on the Cape Verde Islands and Madagascar.
Taxonomy
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.
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.
Behaviour
Peregrine Falcons feed almost exclusively on birds, such as doves, waterfowl and songbirds, but occasionally they hunt small mammals, including bats, rats, voles and rabbits. Insects and reptiles make up a relatively small proportion of their diet. Peregrine Falcons also eat their own chicks when starving.
Peregrine Falcons breed at approximately two or three years of age. They mate for life and return to the same nesting spot annually. Their courtship flight includes a mix of aerial acrobatics, precise spirals, and steep dives. The male passes prey it has caught to the female in mid-air. To make this possible, the female actually flies upside-down to receive the food from the male's talons.
Females lay an average clutch of three or four eggs in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, increasingly, on tall buildings or bridges. They occasionally nest in tree hollows or in the disused nest of other large birds.
The man-made structures used for breeding typically closely resemble the natural cliff ledges that the Peregrine prefers for its nesting locations. The falcons have also been observed swooping down to catch common city birds such as pigeons and Common Starlings. In many cities, the Peregrines have been credited with controlling the numbers of such birds, which have often become pests, without resort to more controversial methods such as poisoning or hunting.
The laying date varies according to locality, but is generally:
from February to March (in the Northern Hemisphere) from July to August (in the Southern Hemisphere) The females incubate the eggs for twenty-nine to thirty-two days at which point the eggs hatch. While the males also sometimes help with the incubation of the eggs, they only do so occasionally and for short periods.
Thirty-five to forty-two days after hatching, the chicks will fledge, but they tend to remain dependent on their parents for a further two months. The tiercel, or male, provides most of the food for himself, the female, and the chicks; the falcon, or female, stays and watches the young.
The average life span of a Peregrine Falcon is up to seventeen years in the wild, although some have been recorded to live until slightly more than twenty years of age.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Falco peregrinus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
