Scientific Name: Falco peregrinus Common Name: Peregrine Falcon
Identifying Features: brown-grey back, barred white underparts, black head yellow legs, black claws
Fun Facts:
- The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the fastest member of the animal kingdom.
- It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world’s most widespread raptor.
This image was clicked by Pradeepkumar Devadoss – via Flickr.
Where have you seen this bird? Let us know in the comments below. You can also share a photo of this bird clicked by you by sending it to birdwatcher@delhigreens.org