Wildlife of the Alligator River


Height	15 in. to 21 in. (38 cm to 53 cm)
Wingspan	3 ft. 4 in. (1 m)
Habitat	Open country, along rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, also found in cities
Typical diet	Smaller birds
Similar species	Crested caracara, collared falconet, common kestrel, Eurasian hobby, brown falcon, gyrfalcon

Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) are large birds of prey with a unique marking on their faces, a wide patch of black feathers that looks like a mustache. The top of their wings and backs can be brownish slate to slate gray. Their undersides are pale yellow with fine black bars and spots.

These spectacular birds are capable of amazingly precise flight and are among the fastest flying birds in the world. They attack their prey in stoops (steep high-speed dives) that can exceed 200 mph (322 km/h). They attempt to kill their prey with their sharp, powerful talons immediately after catching it. If this attempt is unsuccessful, they take their prey to the ground to finish it off. Insect-eating birds (such as the red-cockaded woodpecker) are their main prey. Falcons living in urban areas typically prey on pigeons.

Peregrine falcons have adapted to the encroachment of humans in their habitat. They nest in the tops of large buildings or under bridges. For centuries falconers (persons that raise and train falcons) have trained them to hunt for sport.

Social and reproductive aspects
Peregrine falcons perform dramatic aerial courtship rituals. Females typically lay from 2 to 4 eggs, which are cream-colored with reddish brown spots. Females incubate the eggs, but males occasionally relieve them for short periods of time. Males also bring food to females that are incubating eggs.

Predators
The widespread use of harmful pesticides in the 1950s and 1960s indirectly caused a large drop in the population of peregrine falcons. Insect-eating birds ingested the pesticides when they consumed insects. Peregrine falcons caught and ate these poisoned birds, also ingesting the pesticides. The pesticides caused the falcons to produce eggshells that were too thin and brittle, resulting in a sharp increase in chick mortality. These harmful pesticides have now been banned.

Although they have been removed from the federal listing, peregrine falcons remain an endangered species in North Carolina. State and federal agencies throughout the southern Appalachians (including North Carolina) have reared peregrine falcons in captivity and released them in the wild in attempts to re-establish self-sustaining populations. Their efforts have been moderately successful.