Falcon which feeds on the wing

Today's Show. Donate Search. Peregrine Falcon - Eating On the Wing. BirdNote Gallery. If the wings are open, dark brown bars across the wings are also visible. Peregrine falcons are about 1. Peregrine falcons are global birds. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Peregrine falcons can travel long distances, sometimes between continents, to get from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds. North American peregrine falcons can be migratory or non-migratory.

Some live year-round in Alaska, the Midwest, the Northeast, the Southwest, and along the western coastline. Other peregrine falcons migrate from South America and the Gulf Coast to the Alaskan tundra each year. With their global range, peregrine falcons can be found in a variety of habitats, including mountains, forests, cities, valleys, deserts, and coastlines. Peregrine falcons eat mostly other birds.

They consume a variety of species—about North American species have been documented as prey, and the number worldwide may be as many as 2, Birds as large as sandhill cranes , and as small as hummingbirds, have been consumed by falcons.

Their typical prey items include shorebirds, ducks, grebes, gulls, pigeons, and songbirds. Peregrine falcons also eat bats , and they occasionally steal prey—including fish and rodents—from other raptors. Falcons nest on cliffs up to 1, feet high and sometimes higher. It can live in deserts, forests, woods, plains, and savannas, but needs rocky crags and cliffs nearby for nesting.

It can even be seen in areas where people live. In Ethiopa, for example, it has been observed in the middle of cities perching quite happily on top of lamp posts! The Lanner Falcon physically resembles the Peregrine Falcon in many ways. However, the Lanner Falcon sports a reddish cap on the top of its head, which helps distinguish it from many other similarly-colored falcons.

Indivdual Lanner Falcons vary quite a bit in size and coloration depending on the region in which they live. But generally speaking, it has a light-colored breast that is decorated with darker blotches or stripes.

It has a slaty-colored back with a long tail and dark-tipped wings. Its cere, legs, and the skin around its eyes are all bright yellow. The Lanner Falcon is a powerful, swift and well-equipped hunter. In addition to long, powerful talons, it has a special notch on its beak called a tomial tooth, just like most other falcons do. This sharp, triangular-shaped ridge on the outer edges of the upper mandible is used to help kill prey quickly.

When a Lanner Falcon captures an animal in its talons, it might not be able to kill its prey right away with just the strength of its feet, so it bites the prey's neck, severing the vertebrae and killing it instantly.

The Lanner Falcon can sometimes be seen on exposed perches, using its sharp eyesight to watch for passing prey or scanning the horizon for potential predators or other threats. It also spends a lot of time soaring, sometimes to great heights. The larger females take larger prey than males.

This generalist diet allows peregrines to exist wherever there are good mixed bird populations. They sometimes take mammals, and there are records of occasional amphibians, lizards and large insects. Martin Harper Blog. How nature can help protect our homes Following the floods this winter, watch how one area is using nature as a natural protector. Most popular bird guides this month Which bird song is that? Who to contact if you spot an injured or baby bird Read more advice about what to do if you find a bird that needs help.

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