Imagine diving through the air at over 320 km/h (200 mph) with your keen eyes focused on your target. Then stretching out your talons, you snatch up your prey. This is how the peregrine falcon hunts.
The peregrine falcon is known for its high-speed diving skills. In fact, when diving, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on Earth.
The fastest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph)!
Physically, peregrine falcons are grayish through their back, wings, and head, and their bellies are white. They have black eyes with a yellow circle around them, yellow and gray beaks, and yellow legs.
Peregrine falcons are between 30-50 cm (12-20 in.) long from beak to tail with a wingspan of 80-120 cm (30-48 in.).
Well-adapted to live in many locations, peregrine falcons can live in cities, deserts, mountains, forests, and grasslands. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
They can also live in hot or cold climates. Some peregrine falcons who live in colder climates will migrate in winter and return when it is mating season.
What Peregrine Falcons Eat
Peregrine falcons are a kind of raptor, or bird of prey. That means they eat other animals.
In general, peregrine falcons hunt for other birds. They look for mid-size birds in flight, like ducks, pigeons, and gulls.
Peregrine falcons swoop down and clutch the bird in their talons or knock it from the sky. They may eat while flying or land somewhere safe to eat.
Peregrine Falcon Reproduction
Mating season begins with courtship displays. Males will fly in high circles and swoop into dives. Males will also bring food to females.
If the courtship is successful, the female will lay 3-4 eggs.
Peregrine falcons don’t build nests, but instead they dig out scrapes on a cliffside or use a ledge on the side of a building to lay their eggs.
The female will incubate the eggs for a little over a month. Sometimes the male also incubates the eggs, but he spends most of his time bringing food back to the nest.
Once the chicks hatch, both parents provide food to the babies. The chicks will be ready to fledge (fly for the first time) at around 5-6 weeks.
After their first flight, they will stay with their parents for a few months to learn survival and hunting skills.
Young peregrine falcons may fall prey to great horned owls, but adult peregrine falcons have no natural predators.
They live up to 15 years in the wild.
Conservation Status
These days, peregrine falcons are listed as being of least concern by the IUCN Red List, with their populations increasing. But this was not always the case.
In the mid 1900s, people used a product called DDT to kill insects. Unfortunately, many birds, including peregrine falcons, were affected by the DDT chemicals contaminating the food chain.
When peregrine falcons consumed DDT, it caused their eggs to be thin and fragile. When the parents would try to incubate the eggs, they would crack, and populations decreased.
Since the banning of DDT in the 1970s, peregrine falcon populations have risen back to their pre-DDT levels. This is one success story of how people have taken action to save animals.
What You Can Do to Help
You can help peregrine falcons by spreading awareness about these amazing birds and how they were once in danger of becoming extinct due to DDT.
You can also donate to The Peregrine Fund.
Peregrine Falcon Range
Peregrine falcons can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
More Peregrine Falcon Resources
- Indiana Department of Natural Resources’s Peregrine Falcon page
- “Peregrine Falcon.” National Geographic Kids
- “Peregrine Falcon.” All About Birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- “Peregrine Falcon.” Audubon Society
- The Peregrine Fund
- “DDT – A Brief History and Status.” EPA
Quick Fact Sheet
Common Name(s): Peregrine Falcon
Scientific Name: Falco peregrinus
Animal Type: bird
Size: 30-50 cm (12-20 in.) long; Wingspan: 80-120 cm (30-48 in.)
Weight: 500-1600 g (1.1-3.5 lb.)
Lifespan: Up to 15 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
