More northerly populations are migratory. Do peregrine falcons migrate?īritish and Irish peregrine falcons are present all year round, though females and juvenile may move away from upland areas during the autumn. Tower blocks, bridges and cathedrals offer the perfect urban alternative to high cliffs, while feral pigeons and starlings provide a reliable source of food. Peregrine falcons live mostly in open country, hunting over marshes, estuaries and agricultural land.ĭuring the breeding season, they make their nests on crags and rock faces including sea cliffs, quarries and, increasingly, buildings in urban areas. Juvenile peregrines look slightly different to the adults with dark brown plumage, streaks on the underside of their body and pale tips to their feathers. The crown of the head is dark, and they have a black ‘moustache’ which gives them a hooded expression. Their pale breast is spotted, and the undersides of their wings are barred with dark stripes. They have long, bluntly pointed wings and a relatively short tail, with dark blue wings and head. Peregrine falcons are one of the largest and most powerful species of falcon. However, peregrine falcons have a history of persecution, which has pushed them to the very edge of extinction before now though they are currently listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are also one of the most adaptable and can thrive in urban areas surrounded by humans. He had been banded in the same state in 2003.Peregrine falcons are the fastest creatures on the planet, reaching speeds of over 321 kph (200 mph) as they dive to catch their prey. The oldest Gyrfalcon recorded was a male and at least 15 years, 9 months when he was identified by his band in 2016 in Wisconsin.In North America, most are an intermediate gray color. Both males and females have highly variable plumage coloration, ranging from nearly pure white to dark gray-brown. Adult males are much smaller than females: males average less than 3 pounds while females average up to 4 pounds.They probably seek small prey only when it can be obtained quickly, since larger prey provides a bigger payoff for their efforts. Male Gyrfalcons are commonly seen capturing fledgling songbirds in the area around the nest.That’s about 2-3 ptarmigans per day, which adds up to about 150-200 ptarmigan consumed between courtship and fledging. During the breeding season, a family of Gyrfalcons needs an estimated 2–3 pounds of food per day.Little is known of food-caching outside the breeding season in one case, a Gyrfalcon was seen retrieving a frozen ptarmigan and chipping off pieces of meat to eat, in mid-winter in the Aleutian Islands.
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