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14 Peregrine Falcon Facts for Kids

navajocodetalkersadmin on January 8, 2015 - 2:00 pm in Fun Facts for Kids

When you think of a bird swooping down to get their prey, what do you think of? The eagle? The hawk? Believe it or not, the peregrine falcon is yet another bird that swoops form high in the air to capture their prey, usually other birds. And you can find peregrine falcons nearly everywhere in the world. Here, we will explore the high flying world of the peregrine falcon.

1. Even though the peregrine falcon only measures from just over a foot to just under two feet long, their wingspan can stretch up to nearly 4 feet.

2. Worldwide, you can find about 19 different subspecies of peregrine falcons.

3. There birds can live up to 17 years in the wild.

4. When peregrine falcons swoop down to attack prey, they can travel up to 200 miles per hour as they dive.

5. Peregrine falcons love to eat other birds. They might eat herons, crows, songbirds, pigeons, or even bats.

6. You can find these falcons everywhere on earth except Antarctica. They tend to also avoid very high mountains, as well as colder regions.

7. Every winter, peregrine falcons migrate. Most in the US and Canada travel to Central and South America.

8. Both boy and girl peregrine falcons look the same when it comes to markings and color. However, the female is bigger than the male.

9. Every year, peregrine falcons return to the same nesting site during the summer. Although called nesting sites, these birds do not really build nests.

10. Just like other birds, peregrine falcons start life as eggs. A female will usually have from 2-6 eggs each year. Peregrine falcon chicks spend the first 29-33 days or so as eggs.

11. Both mother and father take turn sitting on the eggs before they hatch. During this time, parents are also very defensive of their nests.

12. Eyases, or peregrine falcon chicks, are fed by their parents. In just six days of their hatching, they will increase their weight by 100%.

13. Peregrine falcons communicate with one another through sounds. Some of these sounds tell other falcons to stay away. Others communicate to parents that chicks are hungry.

14. From the late 1960′s until the 1990′s, peregrine falcons were considered endangered. Use of harmful pesticides, like DDT, had made their eggs much more fragile, so fewer baby chicks were born each year. Since that time, however, their population has recovered. They are now only endangered in Michigan.

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