Fun Facts
SUBSPECIES
There are three North American subspecies of Falco peregrinus: F.p. anatum, F.p. pealei, and F.p. tundrius. F.p. anatum breeds in Alaska, Canada and throughout the western states, including California. F.p. pealei resides (breeds and winters) in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska and along the coast of British Columbia to Oregon; some of the birds may migrate south into California for the winter. F.p. tundrius breeds on the tundra of the Arctic throughout the northern most regions of North America and winters in Latin America.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
Duck hawk, peregrine, American peregrine falcon, great-footed hawk, ledge hawk, stone hawk, rock hawk, bullet hawk, and wandering hawk.
SIZE
Length
- Male - 14-16 inches
- Female - 16-18 inches
Wingspan
- Male - 37-19 inches
- Female - 40-46 inches
Weight
- Male - 1-1.5 pounds
- Female - 1.6 - 2.1 pounds
REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT:
Falcons generally reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age. In the East, pairs were usually on their breeding grounds and had reestablished territories by March. Eggs were laid during late March and April with the clutch size usually being three or four eggs, but rarely six or seven. In the event the first clutch was lost early in the season, a second clutch was laid. Incubation lasts about 33 days with a 2-day hatching interval between eggs. The female normally does most of the incubating while the male hunts. Young stay in the nest for 6 to 7 weeks and are not self-sufficient for several months. Hatching success in the wild is about 75 percent, with an average of one young reaching fledgling age per laying pair. Juvenile birds continue to be particularly vulnerable during their first year of life as they learn to hunt and develop flying skills.
RANGE AND POPULATION LEVEL:
The American peregrine falcon breeds from non-Arctic portions of Alaska and Canada south to Baja California (except on the coast of southern Alaska and in British Columbia), central Arizona and Mexico (locally); eastern limits presently follow the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. Distribution is local in the southern boreal forests of Canada and a few pairs still breed in Labrador. This falcon winters chiefly in its breeding range, except that the more northern birds move south.
The former breeding range also included Ontario, southern Quebec, the Canadian Maritime Provinces, and the eastern United States, south to northern Georgia. Currently, there may be 5OO to 6OO peregrine pairs in the western United States; but, based on a 1975 survey, the original eastern population has been extirpated. In the early 194O's, the eastern United States' population was roughly estimated at 35O pairs. As a result of a captive breeding program, a total of 1,178 peregrines have been reintroduced into the Northeast.
This breeding program was first established and run by the Peregrine Fund Inc., at Cornell University. Since 1986, the Peregrine Fund and the breeding program have been
headquartered in Boise, Idaho. In 199O, there were a total of 84 territorial pairs, 58 laying pairs, and 45 successful pairs producing 111 young.
Source: Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001
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