The Peregrine Falcon :: essays research papers

The Peregrine Falcon The peregrine falcon belongs to a group of birds called the Falconiformes. This groupincludes vultures, kites, hawks, eagles, and falcons. another(prenominal) than vultures, all of these birdshunt and pop out other animals for food. Falconiformes are equipped with hooked beaks andstrong talons, making them excellent predators. All Falconiformes are mean solar day hunters. The peregrine falcon is the best-known of the fifty-eight birds in the falcon family. Theword Peregrine comes from a word that means, " champion who wanders." This falcon hasdefinitely earned its name. For example, whatever of Canadas tundra peregrines fly to Brazileach winter. Peregrine falcons are found in every single part of the world except Antarctica. They wereonce trained by kings to hunt and bring back kills. This sport, called Falconry, is stillpopular. However, in the 1960s the American falcon came close to extinction. Most of thedamage was done by poisons that farmers use d to kill insects. The worst poison was DDT.By the time naturalists learned of DDTs effect on wildlife, it was almost too late. The American peregrines scientific name is Falco peregrinus anatum. At one time, peoplecalled this falcon a duck hawk. That was a poor name, since falcons arent hawks and theyrarely kill ducks. The American peregrine was once found all across the east UnitedStates and southern Canada. In the west, the species was found from Mexico to California.DDT poisoning hit this subspecies the hardest. Even today, naturalists are still workinghard to save the American peregrine from extinction. The smaller tundra peregrine (Falco peregrinus tundrius) lives farther north. Tundraperegrines range across the treeless regions of Alaska and Canada. They are also found inGreenland. Peales peregrine (Falco peregrinus pealei) is the third North Americansubspecies. This western bird ranges from Oregon northward to Alaska and the AleutianIslands. Peales peregrine is the largest of the three subspecies. The tundra and Pealesperegrines have escaped the worst effects of DDT poisoning. Most peregrines are intend blue on the back and wings. The top of its head is black. Blackfeathers around the eyes reduce glare and improve the birds vision. The white undersideof a Peregrines wings, tail, and agency show more bands of dark feathers. A peregrine falcon is a medium-sized bird about the size of a crow. Female peregrines arelarger and heavier than the males. An second-rate female (called a falcon) weighs a little overtwo pounds. The female is eighteen inches in length from beak to square tail. Her long,