Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

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Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus

• An endangered bird species on Earth

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General Facts

• The peregrine falcon is a bird of prey that lives
  near cliffs and mountains in North America.
• It is an incredibly fast flyer it may be the
  fastest-flying bird (and perhaps the fastest
  animal). It has been clocked at 90 mph (145 kph)
  and may fly even faster. The call sounds like
  "kek, kek, kek."

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Identification

• The female (the falcon) is about 1/3 larger than
  the male (the tiercel).
• Adults have a dark slate-blue back and wings and
  a dark blue tail that is lightly barred.
• The top of the head is dark with a dark stripe
  running down the side of the face.
• The cere, legs, and feet are bright yellow.

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Sketch
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Eggs and Nests

• Their nest is a scrape made on the bare rock of a
  cliff. There are also a few records of
  tree-nesting Peregrine Falcons in the eastern
  United States.
• Peregrine falcon nests are minimal, and are
  usually on the cliff ledges.
• Females lay 2-4 red-brown eggs in each clutch (a
  set of eggs laid at one time).

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Prey

• Peregrine falcons are carnivores and hunt during
  the day (they are diurnal).
• They eat mostly birds, swooping down on their
  prey or simply overtaking them.

• They prey on sea birds, pigeons, waders, and
  other birds.

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Habitat

• Peregrine Falcons once nested almost exclusively
  on such lofty natural places as cliffs.

• Now you find them atop tall buildings in those
  nesting boxes provided by human friends.

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Endangered Status

• The peregrine falcon, once numerous throughout
  North America, could possibly become extinct .

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Raptor

• According to the classification of our
  endangered birds database, Peregrine Falcon
  belongs to the group of birds of prey.

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Environmental Affects

• Because of its top position on the food pyramid,
  Peregrine was almost wiped out in the 1970s,
  through exposure to pesticide accumulation,
  particularly DDT in the smaller birds.
• In Falcons, the chemicals reduced nesting success
  by causing eggshells become too thin to sustain
  the weight of the adults during incubation and
  easy to break.

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Human Activities

• In 1970, DDT was banned in Canada.
• Wildlife officials began rearing Falcons in
  captivity and releasing them.
• Young birds were also raised in artificial nests.

Click here to see a video
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Return to the Sky

• Populations in southern Canada were established
  with captive-bred young and remain small.
• Twenty years ago there were no breeding pairs in
  southern Alberta. Now there are 30 pairs across
  the province.

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References

• contents
• http//www.zoomschool.com/subjects/birds/printouts
  /Perfalconprintout.shtml
• http//www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu/newwebdev/raptor/rfa
  cts/peregri.html
• http//www.peregrine-foundation.ca/history.html
• http//exn.ca/mini/endangered/peregrine_fr.html
• images and video/audio clips
• http//www.bishopmuseum.org/bishop/HBS/peregrine-1
  .html
• http//www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/galleries/20
  01/video/gallery.htm
• http//www.erc.msstate.edu/vanderz/cg.html