Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus

Peregrines are the fastest animals in the world. They are believed to achieve speeds approaching 200km/h when plunging from the sky after prey. One has been logged by radar at 183km/h after a dive of 305m.

Peregrine falcons have a body length of 34-50cm, a wingspan of 80-120cm and weigh 0.5-1.5kg.

Their feathers are dark to light grey. They have a white chin and cheeks, with an obvious moustache. Females are much larger than the males. Young Peregrines have brown upper-parts and streaky under-parts.

Peregrines live all over the world. They live in the Arctic tundra, Europe, North America, Africa, South America, the Pacific Islands and Australia.

They live in a wide variety of habitats, including wide open spaces and urban areas.

Peregrines feed almost exclusively on birds, but they occasionally hunt small mammals, including bats, rats and rabbits. Insects and reptiles make up a very small part of their diet.

They hunt other birds at great speeds, often rising above their prey and then stooping down for the kill.

Females lay 2-4 eggs in a nest made on cliff edges or on the ground. They sometimes nest in tree hollows or in the disused nest of other large birds. The chicks rely on their parents for two months after they hatch.

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