Size
107 centimeters
(42 inches) wingspan
Diet
Birds, bats, fish, or rodents, sometimes stolen from other raptors
Range
Permanent Peregrine Falcon range
Breeding range
Passage range
Nonbreeding range
Fact
Peregrine Falcons are incredible flyers; they can dive at over 322 kph (200 mph), and some can migrate 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) a year.
Making A Difference
Peregrine falcon populations plummeted starting in the 1940s due to the use of the pesticide DDT in the US and Canada. Falcons and other birds ingested DDT through their prey and it made females produce eggshells too thin to survive. The peregrine falcon was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1972, the same year that DDT was finally banned. What followed was decades of efforts by zoos, nature centers, and conservation groups to lead habitat restoration projects and to release over 4,000 young falcons into the wild through captive breeding programs. The species began to recover and was removed from the Endangered Species Act list in 1999.
Peregrine falcons can see objects clearly up to a mile away.
Peregrine falcon’s profile
