The Peregrine Falcon :: essays research papers

The Peregrine track down The planetary falcon belongs to a group of birds c entirelyed the Falconiformes. This groupincludes vultures, kites, hawks, eagles, and falcons. Other than vultures, all of these birdshunt and kill other animals for food. Falconiformes atomic number 18 equipped with subordinate hen-pecks andstrong talons, making them excellent predators. All Falconiformes atomic number 18 solar day hunters. The winding falcon is the best-known of the fifty-eight birds in the falcon family. The sound out Peregrine comes from a word that means, "one who wanders." This falcon hasdefinitely realise its name. For example, some of Canadas tundra peregrines fly to Brazileach winter. Peregrine falcons are lay out in every single part of the world except Antarctica. They were one cartridge holder 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 th edamage was make by poisons that farmers used 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 eastern UnitedStates and southern Canada. In the west, the species was found from Mexico to California.DDT poisoning hit this subspecies the hardest. charge 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 th e AleutianIslands. Peales peregrine is the largest of the triplet subspecies. The tundra and Pealesperegrines have escaped the worst effects of DDT poisoning. Most peregrines are slate blue on the back and wings. The top of its head is black. sorryfeathers around the eyes reduce glare and improve the birds vision. The white rear endof a Peregrines wings, tail, and chest 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 average female (called a falcon) weighs a shortsighted overtwo pounds. The female is eighteen inches in length from beak to square tail. Her long,