Peregrine Falcon Fact Sheet

  • The Latin origin, “Falco Peregrinus,” means wandering falcon, traveler, or foreigner.
  • They are birds of prey / carnivores, and eat other birds, sparrows, starlings, gulls, ducks, and their favorite, pigeons.  In fact, during WWII they were often shot in England to keep them from eating the pigeons that were carrying important messages to the forces.
    The peregrine is one of five types of falcons that live in the U.S., gyrfalcon, merlin, American kestrel, and prairie.
  • Peregrines adapt to their environment and live on every continent except Antarctica.
  • They can live in the mountains, deserts, forests, on sea cliffs, in cities and large urban areas.
  • They can migrate as far as 10,000 miles; farther than other birds. 
  • Falcons are the swiftest birds of prey and are very muscular. In level flight they travel about 31 miles an hour.  In a dive, called a “stoop” they reach speeds over 186.33 miles an hour.
  • They are at the top of the food chain, so adult peregrines have no natural predators.  They do however, face many threats from humans; use of pesticides, altering of landscape and habitats, egg collecting, hunting, and taking of the young for falconry. 
  • Their range is about 30 miles with their nest in the center of their range. 
  • During the last 10 years, peregrine falcons continue to recover from near extinction in the United States, specifically in East Chicago, Gary, Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and various sites in Chicago.
  • Ispat-Inland Steel, U.S. Steel, the Bailly Power Plant, Bethlehem Steel, and bridges and overpasses along Cline Avenue in East Chicago are nesting homes for the peregrine.
  • The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has recorded at least 87 newborn peregrines to have survived and left the nest from 1989-2003.
  • Steel grated ledges and stairways that wrap around mill smokestacks and the concrete and iron edges of skyscrapers are comparable nesting spots within city confines for the adaptable peregrine.