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The bird Peregrine Falcon is one of the most common feathered predators of the falcon family. This species is quite common, respectively, it can be found on almost any continent, with the exception of Antarctica. Peregrine falcon, unlike other birds of prey, has a rather modest size (not more than the usual crow), the back has a dark gray feather cover, the plumage of the belly is light, the head of the bird is black with characteristic for this type of “antennae”. To date, there are about two dozen subspecies of the Peregrine Falcon, differing in both their size and color of feathers.
Description
Peregrine falcon is a bird of falcon families, the average size of the body of representatives of this species is up to 50 cm, the wingspan is up to 120 cm. Note that females are slightly larger than males, the body weight of birds reaches 1500 g.The color of the plumage in females and males of the Peregrine Falcon has practically no differences.
This species has a fairly strong folded body, a wide chest, a rather short beak (shaped like a sickle) and strong clawed paws. The feather dress of adult individuals of the Peregrine Falcon is dark gray (back, wings, nadkhvostiya), decorated with bands of darker shade across than the main color of the color. The wings of the bird have a black border around the edges. The abdomen of the peregrine falcon is light with a smooth transition from gray-white to ocher tone with characteristic thin black color. The chest of the representatives of the species is also decorated with dark drop-shaped speckles. The tail is rather long, but narrow, with a slight rounding at the end, decorated with a white border.
The bird's eyes are large, brown, with a characteristic yellowish ring framing the feathered eye. Adult individuals have a beak and legs of a dark color; the articulation is pale yellow. The snapper of the peregrine falcon has prongs, which are mainly intended for cutting the spine of prey caught by the bird of prey.
The feather dress of young individuals of a sapsana is more contrast, which is manifested by a brown back,bright belly with transverse pestrinami. The paws of young birds have a yellow color, and the ceramum is gray with a bluish tint.
Peculiarities of nutrition of the species
The best time to hunt a bird is in the early morning or evening. Often the peregrine falcon hunts in pairs, the predator grabs its prey with strong, clawed paws on the fly. Sapsan is notable for remarkable patience, looking out for its prey, being in the air, and hovering over the forage territory or sitting for quite a long time on a high ledge.
Being in the air and seeing its prey, the peregrine falcon swoops down almost lightning-fast, folding its wings (the flight speed of a feathered predator reaches 90 m / s), first striking, and at the same time snapping its prey.This species deservedly received the title of the fastest birds that only exist on our planet. In the event that the victim does not immediately die from the force of the blow from which a bird flies at her, the latter finishes it with his strong beak. With prey, the bird rises to the nearest rocky elevation, after which, as a rule, it eats. Or it places its nesting place in the place of its feeding for females and offspring.
Bird spread
As mentioned above, the peregrine falcon is a bird that is often found throughout almost all the land (except Antarctica). This predator, quite unpretentious to the conditions of its habitat, can easily get along in an area characterized by various climatic conditions (from tundra to hot tropics). In the highlands, peregrine falcons live at altitudes that exceed 4,000 meters above sea level.
This type of bird prefers for its residence a terrain that is difficult for most animals and humans, characterized by a wide horizon and the presence of water sources in the immediate vicinity of nesting sites (valleys of mountain rivers).
Most of the colonies of the represented birds prefer to nomadic life - sedentary, the exception is the colonies of birds of prey living in the subarctic / arctic climate (they make long flights during the winter hut).
Breeding features
The sexual maturity of peregrine falcons begins at the age of one year, but the breeding of offspring occurs when adults reach 2–3 years. This type of bird is monogamous, it says that by creating a pair, the birds stay together for many years.
The beginning of the mating season of these birds of the falcon family coincides with the end of spring - the beginning of summer (April-June). The first to arrive at the nesting place of birds is a male peregrine falcon, at the same time immediately starting to call the female, which is manifested by the implementation of intricate figures in the air. If the female flies up to the male that attracts her attention - this indicates the formation of a pair. The birds are long enough to be next to each other, showing signs of attention and courtship. Often, the male often lures the female caught prey.
In the nesting period, the Peregrine Falcons are quite aggressive towards any birds and animals.The distance between the nests of pairs of sapsana reaches 2-6 km.
As a rule, for the construction of a nest choose an area near the reservoir, in some cases, the Peregrine Falcons occupy the existing old nests left over from other birds. If a new nest is being built, in this case a small area is cleared by birds, after which a small hole is dug in the ground without any litter. Often near the peregrine falcons nest can be seen an accumulation of a significant amount of traces of caught prey and litter brood
Eggs are laid at the onset of the warm season, this period implies that the female peregrine falcon lays three eggs every two days. The color of the eggs is quite bright - brownish with dark spots. The duration of the eggs of eggs on average is 35 days. As a rule, both representatives of the pair are involved in this process.
The hatching chicks are helpless, have too big paws and a characteristic downy garment of gray-white color. The female warms the resulting offspring with her own body and feeds. The task of the male falcon in a given period of time is to harvest food to feed its girlfriend and young brood.
On the wing, young individuals of the Peregrine Falcon become on reaching 35-45 days after spitting; nevertheless, for a few more weeks they are completely dependent on their parents, until they learn to independently obtain food. Young birds leave their parents' nest in late June - early July.
Features of the voice of a bird of prey
Although the peregrines and silent birds, nevertheless, they have a rather loud and sharp voice that can be heard in the mating season of this species. As a rule, in this case the peregrine falcon uses its voice exclusively for attracting / invoking a female. Also, often this predator uses its jerky "Kra-kra" in case of any concern or danger.
Interesting facts about the bird
After the transfer of the island of Malta by the emperor Charles V at that time, to the representatives of the knightly order (better known as the Order of Malta), one of the prerequisites of the monarch was once a year the transfer of one peregrine falcon.The mention of this is also described in the well-known book The Maltese Falcon, written by the English novelist Dashil Hammett (in 1941, the novel was screened in the United States). Note that today the name of the island is one of the subspecies of this predatory and fast feathered.
Although the peregrine falcon population was widely distributed, however, this species of bird has always been considered very rare. Today, the population of the species is declining, the main reason being the use of pesticides. Peregrine falcons are birds included in the Red Book, hunting for this species of feathered predator is prohibited throughout the world.
Video: Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
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