peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a bird-predator of a family of falcons.Distributed except Antarctica, in every continent.Sized bird with a gray crow.The plumage of the back dark, slate-gray, belly - a bright, top of the head - black.A distinctive feature is the black "mustache".In accordance with the color and size of the body secrete about seventeen subspecies.
This bird is considered to be the fastest in the world.The speed of the peregrine falcon in the attack can reach more than three hundred and twenty kilometers per hour (90 meters per second).Bird while hunting plans in the sky or sitting on a perch.Noticing prey, peregrine falcon rises above it, and almost at a right angle swoops down rapidly.Paws he strikes the victim on a tangent.In some cases, he swipes claws that even a fairly big game could fly off his head.
Typically, peregrine falcon preys on medium-sized birds.These include doves, ducks, starlings, wetland and aquatic representatives.In rare cases, objects can be small mammals.
At the age of two birds comes puberty.Educated couples persist throughout life.Peregrine, nesting sites which can be found most often on the tops of ridges, rocky cliffs, is considered a rare bird.In some cases, it nests in marshes or bumps on the stone buildings, in particular, on the rooftops, belfries, ledges of tall buildings, bridges and other structures.
After the Second World War, the population began to decline significantly.To a large extent this was due to the economic use of pesticides (DDT and others), which adversely affect the development of embryos.Due to the ban on the use of pesticides in the 1970s, and after the implementation of environmental programs in many countries began to recover populations of birds.Peregrine Falcon is included in the Russian Red Book as a numerically small species.Furthermore, this species is included in Appendix I CITES whereby trade is prohibited by these birds worldwide.
body length Peregrine - from thirty-four to fifty centimeters.Wingspan ranges from eighty to one hundred and twenty centimeters.Just as with other birds, predators, the female peregrine much larger males and weigh about 900-1500 grams.Thus males have a weight of from 440 to 750 grams.They have the same color.
Overall Peregrine with sturdy, which is typical for active bird predators.His chest is wide enough with convex and rigid muscles.The fingers are strong enough to cool the bent nails and sharp.The beak is short, curved sickle.At the end of the upper mandible teeth are present, by means of which the falcon bites the spine in the neck to the victim.
ends of the wings are black.Usually, abdomen bright.In accordance with the environment, it may be grayish-white, reddish, pinkish or ocher color.On his chest peregrine teardrop-shaped streaks.The bird has a relatively long tail, narrow and rounded at the end.At the bottom it is black with a slight white stripe at the end.Like "mustache", the upper portion of the head black, the lower part of the throat and reddish or white.On the upper part of the trunk there fuzzy dark lateral stripes.
Falcon Eyes large, dark-brown, convex, they are surrounded by a ring of bare skin yellowish.
inner toe is considerably shorter than the outer and middle finger tarsus length.
Juveniles have a somewhat less contrasted plumage.The upper part of the body they brown, at the bottom - the lighter.Young birds greater longitudinal streaks, while in adults - more cross.
