Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus, family: Falconidae)

peregrine falcon kruger national park birds The Peregrine Falcon (Latin name Falco peregrinus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 171 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 557 also a picture of the Peregrine Falcon on page 529. The Peregrine Falcon belongs to the family of birds classified as Falconidae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Peregrine Falcon is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a rare resident

In terms of distribution of the Peregrine Falcon in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Peregrine Falcon : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Peregrine Falcon is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Peregrine Falcon is about 43 cms and its weight is about 500 gms

The male and female Peregrine Falcon have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are orange.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Peregrine Falcon feeds on the ground mainly

Reptiles

Other Birds

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Peregrine Falcon is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Falco peregrinus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Peregrine Falcon is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 1 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Peregrine Falcon are: woodlands

You will not see Peregrine Falcon in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ukhetshe

Zulu ... uHeshe

Afrikaans ...Swerfvalk

German ... Wanderfalke

Portuguese ... Falco-peregrino

French ... Faucon plerin

Dutch ... Slechtvalk

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 171

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za