The peregrine falcon, the most extraordinary aerial hunter
The peregrine falcon is distributed almost in the entire world, lacking only in the
tropical rain forest of central America and West Africa
About 15 subspecies of the peregrine falcon are recognised by scientists, of which 3 are of some interest in Italy:
The Falco p. brookei which is the breeding subspecies in the mediterranean area
and is the one we can admire in our webcams on our site!
In northern Italy and the rest of central and northern Europe, we can find the Falco p. peregrinus ,
slightly bigger and paler than the mediterranean subspecies. Furthermore, in winter it is possible to find
a third subspecies - Falco p. calidus which is much bigger and paler than all other subspecies.
In north-west America the breeding subspecies is the Falco p. anatum, which is substituted by Falco p. pealei
on the coast of Canada and Alaska and by Falco p. tundrius in the artic northern America. On the east coast of U.S.A.,
furthermore, after thoughtless introductions it is possible to find a mixed population originated from 7 subspecies.
The situation of peregrine populations
For decades, between 1950 and 1980, several peregrine falcons populations of central and eastern Europe, as well as those from
north America, have declined dramatically, following the strong use of pesticides (mainly DDT) in agricoltural practices.
In Italy, however, the peregrine falcon mantained a healthy population across the whole period, and now, after the strong increase of
this species, it can be considered quite common, with more that 1500 pairs.
The reproduction
Generally, peregrines start to lay eggs between the end of February (southern Europe) and the end of April (northern Europe and America)
All falcons followed with our webcams usually start to lay their eggs by the first week of March.
The eggs, usually between 3 and 4, sometimes 5 in north America, are incubated for 28-33 days and after hatch, another five to six
weeks are necessary before fledging.
The peregrine falcon is found all year round in Italy and southern Europe, while more northern populations may
migrate into warmer areas in winter.
Habitat
In Italy, peregrine falcons breed only on cliffs, while a tree breeding population was once found in eastern Europe.
This population, however, has been completely wiped out by pesticides and has been object of reintroductions in the last
few years.
Recently, peregrines started to breed in several cities, such as Rome, Milan, Warsaw, New York, Boston and London.
The peregrine falcon inhabits usually open or scarcily wooded areas, where it can find a large amount of preys, such as
starlings and pigeons.
Hunting techniques
The peregrine falcon is an extraordinary aerial hunter, preying mainly birds with very fast dives, when it
can even reach 300 km/h (180miles/h).
At the end of these dives the peregrine hits with full speed the prey, which is usually killed by the impact.
In winter it is easy to observe peregrine falcons hunting starlings in several southern European cities, such as Rome.
In these occasions starlings form large and dense groups in the sky, in which peregrines plunge with high speed in order to
catch some starling.
Here a video of a peregrine hunting starlings:
Here a documentary about the special relationship between pigeons and peregrines
