What Is This #AZCritter? Peregrine Falcon

By Arizona Science Desk
Published: Thursday, October 6, 2016 - 8:17am
Updated: Thursday, October 6, 2016 - 1:27pm
(Photo by Carol Harvey | Graphic by Ambar Favela)
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What Is This #AZCritter? is a new digital series from the Arizona Science Desk that wants to help you identify and learn more about interesting Arizona animals.

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What Is This #AZCritter?

Brian sent us this photo of this perched bird.

What Is It?

We asked Tad Theimer, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University, to identify this bird.

“This is so cool! This is a peregrine falcon, often touted as the fastest bird in the world, at least when it is diving at prey,” he said.

Theimer said the peregrine falcon was listed as endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Act because of the “detrimental effects of the pesticide DDT.” The pesticide caused the thinning of eggshells and ultimately the loss of eggs and young.

Peregrines were delisted in 1999 because populations have recovered through control of pesticides and captive breeding programs.

“This is a real success story of the Endangered Species Act in action,” Theimer said.

Where Do They Live?

“Historically peregrines nested on cliff ledges but now the birds will sometimes use ledges on city buildings as nest sites, especially when there are lots of pigeons around to eat,” Theimer said.

“Peregrines eat many types of birds, from songbirds, to pigeons to ducks, and kill them by flying above and then diving, called ‘stooping,’ down on the bird from above.  They have been estimated to reach 200 miles per hour during these dives (thus the claim of fastest bird in the world)," he said.

"I heard one stoop down on a swallow a few feet off the water of a high mountain lake in Colorado, and it sounded like a small jet engine as the wind blew through its feathers at the bottom of its dive. When they strike the prey with their balled up feet, the bird is either stunned or killed outright," Theimer said. “The bird in this photo is probably passing through on migration and taking a rest on the building ‘cliff.’"

Are They Dangerous?

“If you’re a bird the size of a duck or pigeon or smaller, they can be deadly!” he said. “With sharp talons and a notched beak perfected to sever the neck vertebrae of their prey, if I was a pigeon they would be the stuff of my nightmares. If you’re a human, though, you need have no fear, just enjoy a sight that is here only because our federal government ... had the foresight to put in place a law like the Endangered Species Act.”

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