Aussie Peregrines

Falco peregrinus macropus

Peregrine Falcons occur just about anywhere in Australia, from the coast to the Outback and from the tropical north to the temperate south. Even in arid interior, they can be seen around billabongs and permanent waterholes.

Peregrines have lived in Australia for a long time. Their fossil remains have been found in Pleistocene deposits dating to about 1.85 million years ago. A study of deposits found at a cliff where Peregrines nest in Tasmania discovered that the oldest deposits were laid down about 8600 years ago.

Australian Peregrines are medium-sized (0.5 m), stocky, deep-chested birds of prey (raptors) with long, narrow, tapering wings. The head of an adult Peregrine Falcon is covered by a blue-black cap, its back is a dark slaty grey, throat white and the rest of the underparts white to buff with narrow black bars. Juveniles are similar but more brownish in colour and the underparts are streaked rather than barred.

Like many eagles, hawks and falcons, but unlike most other birds, male Peregrines are smaller than females. This phenomenon is known as Reversed Size Dimorphism.

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