AI overview
The peregrine falcon is a bird of prey found around the world that hunts other birds in flight. It matters because it serves as an important predator in ecosystems and has been a focus of conservation efforts after its populations declined significantly in the 20th century.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Least Concernperegrine
Species
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderFalconiformes
- FamilyFalconidae
Much larger (15-20 inches) than the Merlin, the Peregrine Falcon is most easily identified by its slate-gray back, brown-barred breast, and thick black “moustache” stripe. Other field marks include yellow eye-rings, a white throat, and yellow legs. Like most species of raptors, females are larger than males. The Peregrine Falcon inhabits every continent except Antarctica, and elsewhere are only absent from the interiors of tropical forests and large deserts. In North America, this species has a patchy breeding distribution from arctic Canada and Greenland south to central Mexico. In winter, this species is found along the Pacific coast of Alaska and Canada, extreme southeastern Canada, and south through much of the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America. In the Old World, this species is absent only from extremely dry, cold, and remote areas such as the Sahara desert, Central Asia, Iceland, and New Zealand. Peregrine Falcons breed in a number of habitats across North America. These habitats have in common prominent cliffs or ledges for nesting as well as open areas for hunting. Peregrine Falcons are known to breed on tundra, coast, and mountains, and have
via IUCN
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
Article
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), also referred to simply as the peregrine, is a bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae known for its speed. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts and a black head. As is typical for bird-eating (avivore) raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. Historically, the bird has also been known as the "black-cheeked falcon" in Australia and the "duck hawk" in North America.
The breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests. The only major ice-free landmasses from which it is entirely absent are the islands of New Zealand, making it the world's most widespread raptor and one of the most widely found wild bird species. In fact, the only land-based bird species found over a larger geographic area, domestic and feral pigeons, owe their success to human-led introduction. Both are domesticated forms of the rock dove, and are a major prey species for peregrine populations. Due to their greater abundance in cities than most other birds, feral pigeons support many peregrine populations as a staple food source, especially in urban settings.