Avise's Birds of the World

Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus

Native Range: Worldwide

Notes: a magnificent top-level predator of open spaces such as cliffs and coastlines; powerful flight; specializes on mid-sized avian prey such as shorebirds, pigeons, and doves; nearly went extinct in North America in the 1960s due to habitat loss and to DDT poisoning that caused its eggs to be thin-shelled and break; populations have partly recovered thanks to heroic efforts of captive breeding and reintroductions; now can be found even in big cities where it nests on window ledges of skyscrapers and feeds mostly on pigeons.