Prairie Falcon
Falco mexicanus |
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STANFORD LOCATIONS: Rarely seen on campus. Similar Species: Peregrine Falcon |
Location |
Type |
Mating System |
Parental Care |
2ndary Diet |
Strategy |
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I: 29-33 DAYS SEMIALTRICIAL 2 |
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(20 feet - 400 feet) |
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(2-7) MONOG |
MF |
MAMMALS INSECTS LIZARDS |
.......PATROL |
BREEDING: | Open habitat in mountainous regions, shortgrass prairie, alpine tundra. 1 brood. |
DISPLAYS: | Male performs aerial gymnastics, cutting parabolas and calling in front of perched female; she calls, occ joins flight. Male also struts on nesting ledge. |
NEST: | On cliff ledge, occ in rock crevice, always facing open habitat. Usu unlined. Rarely use earthen bank. |
EGGS: | White/pinkish-white, marked with browns. 2.1" (52 mm). |
DIET: | Can overtake most birds directly, flushing ground dwellers by flying low, but also hovers and stoops for other prey. |
CONSERVATION: | Winters s to Baja, n Mexico. Some eggshell thinning and mercury poisoning reported (accumulated esp from taking seed-eating Horned Lark). Declining in UT, w Canada, and agricultural CA. |
NOTES: | Weak nest site tenacity. Clutches smaller in e portion of range. In nest defense, male circles above, female leaves nest only as last resort. Parental care of young continues after fledging. Female ca. 33% larger than male. With lighter wing loading, outflies Peregrine at high altitude. |
ESSAYS: | Raptor Hunting; Size and Sex in Raptors; Conservation of Raptors; Wing Shapes; Metallic Poisons; Site Tenacity. |
REFERENCES: | Allen et al., 1986; Cade, 1982; Enderson, 1964; Marti and Braun, 1975. |
Help | Abbreviations | Species-Alphabetical | Species-Taxonomic | Essays-Alphabetical | |
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988). |