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6

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Alternate name(s): "Black-cheeked Falcon", "Peregrine"; misnomer: "Duck Hawk" Size: 35-50 cm; wing span 85-100 cm Weight: 425-750 g (male), 910-1500 g (female)

Oman: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Egyptian Vulture Lappet-faced Vulture Bonelli's Eagle Osprey Pallid Harrier Black Kite Peregrine Falcon Common Kestrel Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names 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. The 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 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. Peregrine Falcons, race "babylonicus", are winter visitors in Oman from their breeding grounds in central Iran and north-eastwards along the border region of Kazachstan and China, to the western tip of Mongolia. In Oman Peregrine Falcons, race "babylonicus", are found all along the (near-)coastal fringe, from the border region with the UAE at the northern tip of the Arabian peninsula, to the border with Yemen (South of which race "pelegrinoides" is found).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "babylonicus" We have not seen any Peregrine Falcons, race "babylonicus", in Oman yet. Race "macropus" We have spotted Peregrine Falcons, race "macropus", in Australia.

Photos

No photos from Oman available yet. We have taken photos of Peregrine Falcons, race "macropus", in Australia.

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.

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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 31 May 2020, 9:11 +00:00