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Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Alternate name(s): "Black-cheeked Falcon", "Peregrine"; misnomer: "Duck Hawk" German name(s): "Wanderfalke" Size: 35-50 cm; wing span 85-100 cm Body mass: 425-750 g (male), 910-1500 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.52 (male), 0.66 (female)

Europe: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Lammergeier Eurasian Black Vulture Griffon Vulture Rueppell's Vulture Egyptian Vulture Osprey White-tailed Eagle Golden Eagle Spanish Imperial Eagle Short-toed Snake Eagle Bonelli's Eagle Booted Eagle Greater Spotted Eagle Red Kite Black Kite European Honey Buzzard Common Buzzard Rough-legged Buzzard Long-legged Buzzard Western Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Montagu's Harrier Pallid Harrier Black-winged Kite Eurasian Goshawk Eurasian Sparrowhawk Gyrfalcon Lanner Falcon Peregrine Falcon Common Kestrel Lesser Kestrel Red-footed Falcon Merlin Eurasian Hobby Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Peregrine Falcons are relatively small raptors. They have a black head with yellow eye-ring, white half-collar, thinly barred grey-brown front (breast, belly and vent) and grey wings with dark-grey tips. The tail is barred grey. The bill is grey, with a yellow cere; the legs and feet are yellow. The underwing pattern is barred grey-brown, similar to the front of the body. Females are much larger than males. First-year Peregrine Falcons have a heavily streaked front, with an inconspicuous collar. Their overall appearance is browner than an adult's. "Raptors" (or "birds of prey"), most prominently, but also some species of waders, show a pronounced "dimorphism", i.e. a difference between male and female birds - not just in the appearance of the plumage, but in other, important properties, such as size or strength. Here we explain why.

Taxonomy, classification See Peregrine Falcon at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Peregrine Falcon is available HERE . Peregrine Falcons are the species with the most wide-ranging distribution on Earth. For details on the ranges of the currently accepted 19 races, see e.g. a field guide or Wikipedia (also the more detailed range map). Basically, the only areas - apart from Antarctica, Iceland, most of Greenland and other far-northern islands - where they do NOT occur are the greater Amazon basin and Mato Grosso, the major deserts (Sahara, Gobi, central Arabia) and inland areas of central western Africa. In Europe three races of Peregrine Falcons are present. Around the Mediterranean Sea, southward of the Pyrenees, the Alps and the river Danube, race "brookei" is found. Nominate race "peregrinus" populates the British Isles (except East Anglia), south-western central Europe, the coastal fringe of the Netherlands and Germany, but also the Atlantic coast of southern Sweden and of Norway, and most of the Danube valley. They are also found from northern Sweden, via northern Finland into mid-latitude eastern Europe. Along the northern coastal fringe of Scandinavia and European Russia race "calidus" is found.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "peregrinus" J. Pires reports spotting Peregrine Falcons, nominate race "peregrinus", occasionally in various locations in southern/central Portugal. G. Normand found a Peregrine Falcon, race "peregrinus", at Pointe du Raz, Bretagne, France, in August 2020. A. Sarok spotted a Peregrine Falcon, race "peregrinus", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. Race "macropus" We have spotted Peregrine Falcons, race "macropus", in Australia.

Photos

Race "peregrinus"

ADULT

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a Peregrine Falcon with a full crop looking sideways; given the bird's hefty appearance, this may be a female (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila France de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2022]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Peregrine Falcon looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, January 2023]

Near-frontal view of a Peregrine Falcon on a coastal rock (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Pointe du Raz, Bretagne, France, August 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Peregrine Falcon perched on a power pole (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a Peregrine Falcon in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo de Sao Vicente, Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Dorsal view of an immature Peregrine Falcon with its prey looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila France de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2022]

Dorsal view of two Peregrine Falcons on a coastal rock; their brownish colouring suggests that they are juveniles; the relative sizes indicate that the bird on the left is a female, male on the right (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Papoa, Peniche, Leiria, Portugal, May 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon in flight looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sao Marcos da Ataboeira, Castro Verde, Alentejo, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sao Marcos da Ataboeira, Castro Verde, Alentejo, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sao Marcos da Ataboeira, Castro Verde, Alentejo, Portugal, February 2023]

Sequence of photos showing a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, seen in difficult light conditions, carrying away its prey
(photos courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2018]

Race "macropus"

We have taken photos of Peregrine Falcons, race "macropus", in Australia.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Part of the Peregrine Falcon population in Europe is sedentary (mostly around the Mediterranean and in central/western Europe). Others overwinter in these parts and migrate to Scandinavia and north-western Russia for breeding in summer.

Food, Diet

All raptors are carnivores. Peregrine Falcons prey on smaller birds, up to the size of pigeons or ducks, which they take in flight.

Dorsal view of a Peregrine Falcon with its prey looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

perfalc_me_20230815.mp3	macropus (N QLD)	Hunting call (female with prey)	© ME
perfalc_20200531_3.m4a	macropus (NW NSW)	?	© MD
perfalc_20211021_2.m4a	macropus (NW NSW)	? (+alarm calls of Australian Raven and Pied Butcherbird)	© MD
perfalc_20200531_2.m4a	macropus (NW NSW)	? (+alarm calls of White-plumed Honeyeater)	© MD
perfalc_20200531.m4a	macropus (NW NSW)	? (+alarm calls of Straw-necked Ibis, Magpie-lark & White-plumed Honeyeater)	© MD

More Peregrine Falcon sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.