Peregrine Falcon at Bushy Park Wetlands

Description: The Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus ("wandering falcon") is a compact bird, heavily built with powerful wings which are held outstretched in a straight line when soaring. It is blue grey above, with a reddish breast, greyish barred abdomen, black head and cheeks. Immature birds have a mostly brown back and head. The bill is slate blue with a black tip. The iris is brown and the legs are yellow. The males have a length of 36 to 40 cm and the females grow from 46 to 50 cm.

Habitat: The Peregrine Falcon likes a heavily timbered habitat, preferably having cliffs or rocky outcrops in coastal or mountainous regions of the country. This is one of the most widespread of all birds, with populations on all continents except Antarctica. It is widely but somewhat thinly distributed in Australia, reaching its greatest abundance in the south-east including Dandenong Valley Park.

Food: Relying upon speed and flying ability to overcome its prey, its hunting techniques place it among the most dramatic of the raptors, a quality long recognised in the sport of falconry. Typically it soars high, watching the space below and pouncing on birds in mid-flight after a high-speed dive at speeds up to 150 km/hr. It preys almost exclusively on birds, especially starlings, mynas, pigeons and others of similar size; and occasionally on insects. Unlike some other birds of prey, the Peregrine Falcon lacks a spasmodic clutching foot mechanism, so uses its powerful bill to sever the neck vertebrae of its victim.

Breeding: In south-eastern Australia the breeding season is regular, beginning in early August. No nest is built. The two or three eggs forming the usual clutch are laid on a cliff ledge (or occasionally on a tall building); sometimes a tree cavity is used, or (rarely) the abandoned nest of some other hawk. The incubation period is about 36 days, and the young fledge after about 39 or 40 days in the nest.

Home Page

Updated 6 Dec. 2001