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Prairie Falcon

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Scientific Classification

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Conservation
Scientific name: Falco mexicanus
Family name: Falconidae

Are they endangered? No, they are not endangered.   (IUCN Red list:  Least concern.) 

What are their past/present problems?  Their biggest problem is man moving into their home areas but they are slowly getting used to development and cities.

Prairie Falcon
What do they look like?  The back of their bodies are brown, with darker brown wing feathers. Their tails are striped with white and brown bands.  The falcon’s head is white with brown spotting.  Their bellies are spotted the same.  The eyes and feet are yellow.
How big are they?  Their length is 15-19 inches.  The wingspan is 40-42 inches when fully spread.
How many eggs do they lay?  Females lay 4-5 white eggs once a year.  They eggs hatch in 30 days.
How long do the fledglings stay in the nest?  These birds like to use nests that other birds have left.  They like to live on cliffs. Young birds (chicks) leave the nest in 6 weeks.
When do they hunt?  They hunt during the day. (diurnal)
What do they eat?  Prairie Falcons eat insects, small birds, squirrels, and MICE!
Where do they live?  They live in Canada, western U.S. and northern Mexico.
What kind of place do they like to live in?  Prairie Falcons like mountainous areas and places right at the bottom of them.
Interesting facts:
Prairie Falcons sit on high perches until they see their prey.  They swoop down and grab their prey from behind.  They will also look for prey while they are flying.
These birds don’t migrate, but they will come down from mountain homes to places at the base of the mountain.
The common name is Prairie Falcon, but it doesn’t live too close to real prairies.

Works Cited:

Alderfer, Jonathan.  Complete Birds of North America.  Washington, D.C.:  National Geographic, 2006.

Alsop, Fred.  Birds of North America.  New York:  DK Publishing, 2001.

Falco mexicanus.   10 Dec. 2007.  <http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/49517/all>.

Prairie falcon.  5 Oct. 2007. <http://www.peregrinefund.org/Explore_Raptors/falcons/prairief.html>.

Vanner, Michael.  Field guide to the birds of North America.  United Kingdom:  Parragon, 2006.

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