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Birds

Peregrine
Falcon

Least Concern

Stable

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

The peregrine falcon is a widespread bird of prey. It is a large, crow-sized falcon. It has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head and moustache. As is typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 389 km/h during its characteristic hunting stoop making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.

The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world's most widespread raptor and one of the most widely found bird species.

Duck Hawk, Shaheen Falcon

Regional Names
  • Bengali:
    পেরেগ্রিন শাহিন
  • Bhojpuri:
    बिहिरी
  • French:
    Faucon pèlerin
  • Gujarati:
    શાહીન, કાળો શાહીન, લાલ માથાની શાહીન, ભેરી (માદા), ભેરીબચ (નર)
  • Hindi:
    शाहीन
  • Malayalam:
    കായൽ പുള്ള്
  • Marathi:
    बहिरी ससाणा, शाही ससाणा
  • Oriya:
    ଛଞ୍ଚାଣ
  • Tamil:
    வல்லூறு
Media Gallery
Taxanomy

FALCONIFORMES
FALCONIDAE
Falco peregrinus

Quick Facts
  • It is the fastest flying bird in a dive. It averages speeds of over 110 mph (180 kph).
  • Falconry is still a popular sport in many parts of the world and this bird has been a highly prized bird amongst royalty across many ancient and modern empires and countries.
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