Archipelago Wildlife Library

Within the nest Peregrine Falcons make loud raucous calls such as a harsh “kek-kek-kek” and a whining “keee-keee-eeeee” ^{(4) (5)}. In the air they make “ee-chirp” calls ⁽⁶⁾.

Non-migrant peregrines keep a territory all year round ⁽⁷⁾. They use flight as a territorial display and paired Peregrine Falcons will both actively defend the territory from other individuals and raptors ^{(5) (7)}. In some regions, Peregrine Falcons choose breeding sites in proximity to Ravens (Corvus corax) ⁽³⁾.  From this association Peregrines may obtain early-warning cues about predators and alternative nesting sites ⁽³⁾.

When hunting, they chase birds in a level flight, or catch them after a stooping dive with closed wings from high up ^{(2) (6)}. They fly at moderate speed, with slightly flexed wings, with quick regular wing beats ^{(2) (4)}.  When soaring their wings are held straight and flat ⁽⁴⁾.

Peregrines breed in mountains and on coastal cliffs and move to open terrain and coasts after the breeding season ^{(2) (5)}.  Northern populations breed on ground or bogs in taiga ⁽⁶⁾. Some Peregrines also hunt and nest close to urban areas, such as the hills around Athens ⁽⁸⁾.

Eggs are laid on cliffs ledges, where the nest is a scrape and no nesting material is used ⁽⁴⁾. Peregrines may also use the cliff nests of other raptor birds and birds of the crow family ⁽⁷⁾. The female and occasionally the male incubate the eggs for approximately one month ⁽⁵⁾. The chicks are reared for 35 to 42 days by both parents ⁽⁵⁾.  Breeding season is in March to June during which they raise a single brood of two to four chicks ⁽⁴⁾. They are old enough to breed after two or three years of age ⁽⁵⁾.  When choosing a nest site, Peregrines choose a location far from the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) ⁽³⁾.

Falco peregrinus is widespread but patchily distributed throughout Europe. Its range extends west to North America, the Caribbean, and Uruguay, and east across the Arabian Peninsula and all of Asia to the Far East, and south east to Australasia ⁽⁹⁾. Its global population is estimated at 1.2 million individuals over a range of 46.4 million km^{2 (9)}. Europe accounts for less than a quarter of its global range, with a small breeding population of less than 25,000 pairs ⁽⁹⁾. In Greece there are an estimated 200 to 500 pairs of Peregrines, patchily distributed across the mainland and the Ionian and Aegean Islands ^{(8) (9)}.

Most Peregrine populations are resident, except for the northern populations which migrate south in the autumn. Central and southern populations may make small-distance migrations, depending on the availability of food ⁽⁸⁾.

Peregrine populations prey on birds of medium size, such as warblers, pigeons, crows, jays, ducks, sea-birds, and grouse, depending on the region ⁽⁴⁾. Urban Peregrines prey largely on pigeons and starlings ⁽⁸⁾, which are very numerous in southern and central Europe, often forming huge flocks of thousands of birds ⁽⁸⁾.

IUCN Red List = Least Concern ⁽¹⁾

It was previously evaluated as a rare species, after populations declined in the 1950s and 1960s from pesticide poisoning, but population have recovered and it is now evaluated as secure ⁽⁹⁾.

Description written by Maite Guignard (2009)

(1)   IUCN (2008) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [online] Available:

http://www.iucnredlist.org [date accessed: 14/05/2009]

(2)   Jonsson. L. (1992) Birds of Europe, Christopher Helm Ltd, London

(3)   Fabrizio. S., Rizzolli. F., Marchesi. L. and Pedrini. P. (2004) The importance of interspecific interactions for breeding-site selection: peregrine falcons seek proximity to raven nests, Ecography, 27(6): 818-826

(4)   Hume. R. (2002) RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe, Dorling Kindersley, London

(5)   Perrins. C. (1987) Collins New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, Collins, London

(6)   Mullarney. K., Svensson. L., Zetterstrom. D., and Grant. P.J. (1999) Collins Bird Guide, Harper Collins Publishers, London

(7)   Rizzolli. F., Fabrizio. S.,  Marchesi. L., and Pedrini. P. (2005) Density, productivity, diet and population status of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in the Italian Alps, Bird Study, 52:188–192

(8)   Handrinos. G., and Akriotis. T. (1997) The Birds of Greece, Christopher Helm Ltd., London

(9)   Bird Life International (2009) Species Factsheet: Falco peregrinus, [online] Available:

http://www.birdlife.org [date accessed: 28/05/2009]