Field Guide/Birds/Falco peregrinus

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The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), sometimes formerly known in North America as 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 meter (40 in). Males weigh 570-710 grams; the noticeably larger females weigh 910-1190 grams.

The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest creature on the planet in its hunting dive, the stoop, in which it soars to a great height, then dives steeply at speeds in excess of 320 km/h (200mph)(which beats previous records set by the cheetah and the sail fish) into either wing of its prey, so as not to harm itself on impact. Although not self-propelled speeds, due to the fact that the falcon gathers the momentum and controls its dive, capture (if any) and landing in its own right, technically there is no faster animal. The fastest speed recorded is 390 km/h (242.3mph). At this speed, the air intake is powerful enough to burst the lungs of the bird but the curved cones around its nose divert enough air from the lungs to keep the bird from being injured.

The fledglings practice the roll and the pumping of the wings before they master the actual stoop.

Range, habitat and subspecies

Peregrine Falcons live mostly along mountain ranges, river valleys, coastlines, and increasingly, in cities. They are widespread throughout the entire world and are found in all of the continents except Antarctica.

There are many subspecies of Peregrine Falcons, including:

  • Falco peregrinus — the nominate mainly non-migratory race, which breeds over much of western Eurasia
  • F.p. anatum — is mostly found in the Rocky Mountains. Although it used to be common throughout eastern North America, and is currently being re-introduced in the region, it remains uncommon in much of its former range. Most mature anatums, except those that breed in more northern areas, winter in their breeding range. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.
  • F. p. brookei — of southern Europe to the Caucasus is smaller and more rufous below that the nominate race.
  • F. p. calidus — breeds in the Arctic tundra of Eurasia and is completely migratory and travels as far as sub-Saharan Africa. It is larger and paler than the nominate race.
  • F. p. ernesti — is found in New Zealand and is non-migratory
  • F. p, macropus — is found in Australia and is non-migratory
  • F. p. madens — breeds in the Cape Verde Islands and has brown-washed upperparts.
  • F.p. pealei — or Peale's Falcon, is found in the Pacific Northwest of North America, and is non-migratory. Starting from the Puget Sound it dwells along the coast on cliffs and seastacks up the British Columbia coast (including the Queen Charlotte Islands) around the Gulf of Alaska all the way out the Aleutian Islands towards Russia. This subspecies is the largest in the world and preys mostly on Alcids and seaducks.
  • F. p. peregrinator — (also called the Shaheen Falcon) has rufous underparts and is a breeding resident in South Asia.
  • F. p. tundrius — breeds in the Arctic tundra of North America but is migratory and travels as far as South America.

The Barbary Falcon, Falco (peregrinus) pelegrinoides, is often considered to be a subspecies of the Peregrine.

Peregrines in mild-winter regions are usually permanent residents, and some birds, especially adult males, will remain on the breeding territory. However, the Arctic subspecies migrate; tundrius birds from Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland migrate to Central and South America, and all calidus birds from northern Eurasia move further south or to coasts in winter.

Australian Peregrine Falcons are non-migratory, and their breeding season is from July to November each year.

Behaviour

File:Peregrine falcon chick.jpg
Peregrine falcon chick

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. On the other hand, a growing number of city-dwelling Falcons find that feral pigeons and Common Starlings provide plenty of food. Peregrine Falcon 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 midair. 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 laying date varies according to locality, but is generally:

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 approximately eight to ten years, although some have been recorded to live until slightly more than twenty years of age.

Threats

The Peregrine Falcon became endangered because of the overuse of pesticides, during the 1950s and 1960s. Pesticide build-up interfered with reproduction, thinning eggshells and severely restricting the ability of birds to reproduce. The DDT buildup in the falcon's fat tissues would result in less calcium in the eggshells, leading to flimsier, more fragile eggs. In several parts of the world, this species was wiped out by pesticides.

Peregrine eggs and chicks are often targeted by thieves and collectors, so it is normal practice not to publicise unprotected nest locations.

Recovery efforts

This Peregrine Falcon was found injured and survived in Olomouc Zoological Garden, the Czech Republic. One of activities of the zoological garden is a programme of helping injured birds of prey.

Wildlife services around the world organized Peregrine Falcon recovery teams to breed them in captivity.

The birds were fed through a chute, so they could not see the human trainers. Then, when they were old enough, the box was opened. This allowed the bird to test its wings. As the bird got stronger, the food was reduced because the bird could hunt its own food. This procedure is called hacking. To release a captive-bred falcon, the bird was placed in a special box at the top of a tower or cliff ledge.

Worldwide recovery efforts have been remarkably successful. In the United States, the banning of DDT eventually allowed released birds to breed successfully. There are now dozens of breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons in the northeastern USA and Canada.

Many have settled in large cities, including London Ontario and Derby, where they nest on cathedrals, skyscraper window ledges, and the towers of suspension bridges. About 18 pairs nested in New York City in 2005.[1]

These structures typically closely resemble the natural cliff ledges that the species prefers for nesting locations. During daytime the falcons have been observed swooping down to catch common city birds such as pigeons and Common Starlings. In many cities, the Falcons 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.

File:Stamp-ctc-1990s-recovering-species.png
Successful efforts at saving endangered species like the Peregrine were recognized by a U.S. postal stamp.

In Virginia, state officials working with students from the Center for Conservation Biology of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg successfully established nesting boxes high atop the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge on the York River, the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge and Varina-Enon Bridge on the James River, and at other similar locations. Thirteen new chicks were hatched in this Virginia program during a recent year. Over 250 falcons have been released through the Virginia program.

In the 53-mile long New River Gorge of West Virginia, another program is underway to re-establish populations by transferring "bridge chicks" from Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey to special nesting boxes mounted on the high cliffs. [2]. Chicago also started its habitat protection programs with a special recognition of Peregrine Falcon by making it the official bird of the city.[3]

The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the U.S. Threatened and Endangered Species list on August 25, 1999. In 2003, some states began issuing limited numbers of falconry permits for Peregrines, due to the success of the recovery program.

In the UK, there has been a good recovery of populations since the crash of the 1960s. This has been greatly assisted by conservation and protection work led by the RSPB. Peregrines now breed in many mountainous and coastal areas, especially in the west and north. They are also using some city buildings for nesting, capitalizing on the urban pigeon populations for food

Trivia

  • The Mediterranean Peregrine Falcon, in this context known as the Maltese Falcon, was the annual rent required by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V when he donated the Island of Malta to the Knights Hospitaller in 1530.
  • The Peregrine Falcon appears on the left hand side of the Coat of arms of the Isle of Man. The Peregrine is used owing to the historical importance of the bird in the Isle of Man. When Henry IV of England gave the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley he made the condition that Sir John give two Peregrine Falcons to him, and furthermore to every future monarch of England on his or her Coronation Day. This tradition was carried out up to the Coronation of George IV in 1821.
  • The air pressure from the Peregrine's bullet-like attack plunge might burst an ordinary bird’s lungs. It’s thought that the series of baffles in a Peregrine’s nostrils slow the wind velocity, enabling the bird to breathe while diving [4]. This feature of the Perigrine's nostrils, once its use was found, was mimicked in fighter jets.
  • A Peregrine Falcon, Lucy, was filmed in the movie The Falcon and the Snowman.
  • A Peregrine Falcon will be prominently featured on the Idaho quarter to be issued in 2007 as part of the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters program. [5]
  • The Peregrine Falcon was declared Chicago's official city bird in 1999 after it began nesting on the city's skyscrapers.
  • The Suzuki GSX1300R super-sport motorcycle, aka the Hayabusa (隼), is named after the Japanese word for the Peregrine Falcon. Like the bird, the motorcycle can reach speeds of 300km/h.

References

  • Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  • Tucker VA. Gliding flight: speed and acceleration of ideal falcons during diving and pull out. J. Exp. Biol. 201(Pt 3):403-14 (1998).

Peregrine Falcon webcams

United States

Canada

Australia

  • FrodoCam Live Peregrine Falcon webcam located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The webcam shows nesting pair, Frodo and his mate Frieda. The website can be accessed all year round, and there is continuous live cam coverage (both day and night) during the Australian breeding season (which lasts from July to November–December each year). There are also photo galleries and video footage from the 2006 breeding season, as well as from previous years, and also a "Frodocam Forum" page. The Australian Peregrine Falcon subspecies is Falco peregrinus macropus, and the nearby New Guinea Peregrine Falcon subspecies is Falco peregrinus ernesti. Both subspecies are non-migratory.

The Netherlands

Italy

World cams

External links

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bg:Сокол скитник ca:Falcó pelegrí cs:Sokol stěhovavý da:Vandrefalk de:Wanderfalke el:Πετρίτης es:Falco peregrinus eo:Migra falko fr:Faucon pèlerin id:Alap-alap Kawah it:Falco peregrinus lt:Sakalas keleivis mk:Сив сокол nl:Slechtvalk ja:ハヤブサ no:Vandrefalk nn:Vandrefalk pl:Sokół wędrowny pt:Falcão-peregrino ru:Сапсан sk:Sokol sťahovavý sl:Sokol selec sr:Сиви соко fi:Muuttohaukka sv:Pilgrimsfalk ta:வல்லூறு tr:Bayağı doğan uk:Сапсан zh:游隼

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