Animal Habitat Information

Animal Habitat Information

From Morocco to Malaysia, Greenland to Greece, Australia to Argentina, and India to Iraq, Peregrine Falcons live and breed on every continent in the world except Antarctica. They are strong, efficient flyers and skilled at catching a variety of prey from small songbirds to large ducks. This versatility allows them to live in almost any type of climate and habitat – and they do!

Deserts, seashores, mangroves, wetlands, tundra, grasslands, dry forests, scrubland, and craggy mountains are places one might find a Peregrine Falcon. The most common factor among these different locations is the presence of good nesting habitat. These falcons like to nest in high cliffs, but in cities, Peregrine Falcons use tall buildings or bridges instead. In the spring, a webcam monitors the daily life of a falcon family nesting on the ledge of a tall building in downtown Boise, Idaho.

Peregrine Falcons once nested almost exclusively on lofty cliffs; they were uncommon residents in populated areas like cities. Now they can often be found atop tall buildings and bridges, sometimes in nesting boxes provided by human friends. These swift hunters need a towering roost to spot their prey. In the wild, Peregrines typically scrape a nest in the dirt of a crag or a cliff, usually near lakes or rivers favored by ducks and other waterfowl. On a building they quickly adapt to a man-made nest box with wall-to-wall gravel. Unfortunately, the urbanized Peregrines face new dangers. Some are confused by skyscraper windows and try to fly through them. They are sometimes slammed into buildings by high winds, forced to land in traffic or injured by flying into power lines.