Species

Peregrine falcon

Falco peregrinus

The fastest animal on Earth, which dives on prey at over 300 km an hour, now nesting on city buildings.

Photo Shirley Zundell (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 36 to 49 cm long; wingspan about 1 to 1.1 m
Weight: About 530 to 1,600 g
Habitat: Coasts, cities, cliffs and open country
Diet: Birds, especially pigeons, ducks and shorebirds
In Georgia: An uncommon migrant and winter visitor, mostly on the coast; a few pairs nest on buildings
Voice: A harsh "kak-kak-kak" near the nest
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Large falcon; dark hood and a bold moustache mark; blue-grey back in adults; pointed wings
Told apart from: Merlin, which is much smaller
Told apart from: Mississippi kite, which is slimmer with no moustache
Where to look: Coastal beaches in autumn; tall buildings in Atlanta

Behaviour

Peregrines hunt birds in the air, diving in a "stoop" at speeds measured above 300 km an hour and striking prey with their feet.

Why they matter

Peregrine falcons disappeared from the eastern United States by the 1960s because of DDT. Captive breeding and releases, including on city buildings, brought them back, and they were removed from the endangered species list in 1999 — one of the best-known conservation recoveries. In cities they hunt feral pigeons.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A scrape on a cliff ledge or a building ledge
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 29 to 33 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about six weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over fifteen years are recorded

Living around people

Young peregrines leaving city nests sometimes land on streets; they need a rehabilitator or a trained volunteer, not a push back into the air.

Misconceptions

Peregrines are still endangered. They recovered and were removed from the endangered list.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering	Wintering; city pairs courting	City pairs nesting	Incubating	Chicks	Young fledging	Young learning to hunt	Present	Migrants arriving on the coast	Peak migration	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 95 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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