Mar 16 2009
Peregrine FAQs
Here’s a list of Frequently Asked Questions about peregrine falcons.
This page will change as I build the Q&A so feel free to post your questions. I’ll add them and the answers here.
(The photo of Erie is by Ed Malarkey, Spring 2002. Erie was the first resident male peregrine at the University of Pittsburgh site.)
Reference: Pittsburgh’s Falconcams are at
- Gulf Tower
- University of Pittsburgh. Here’s a slideshow of 2009 Season Highlights at Pitt.
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1. Sitting on Eggs: After the mother peregrine has laid an egg, why doesn’t she sit on it all the time? Answer #1
2. Eating Rocks: It looks like Dorothy (female peregrine at Univ of Pittsburgh) is eating rocks from the nest. Is this so? Answer #2
3. Fidelity to Their Mates and Fighting: Do peregrines mate for life? How do they acquire a new mate? Do they fight to the death? Answer #3
4. Start of Egg Laying: Why do the females lay eggs at such different times? Is it site specific or female specific? Answer #4
5. Time Between Eggs: How many days before the next egg will be laid? Answer #5
6. Why Are the Eggs Red? Answer #6
7. Hatching: When will the eggs hatch? Answer #7
8. Where are the Parents? Sometimes when I look at the webcam there are no adult birds in view. Aren’t they afraid their eggs or chicks will be attacked? Where are they? Answer #8
9. Leftovers: After the chicks are done eating, what do the parents do with the leftovers? Do they eat it themselves? What happens to the carcass? Answer #9
10. Parental roles: What roles do the each of the parents play in feeding and raising the chicks? Answer #10
11. Why are her eyes white? The adult peregrine’s eyes look white on the webcam. What does this mean? Answer #11
12. Why is this bird face down on her nest? Answer #12
13. Banding: Why and how are peregrines banded? Answer #13
14. Are the chicks getting enough to eat? Answer #14
15. Naming: How do peregrines get their names? Why do some have no names? Answer #15
16. Coloration: The young peregrines seem to be a different color than their parents. How long does this color difference last? Answer #16
17. Do they fledge all at once? What are the steps that lead up to first flight? Is it gradual or do they just jump one day? Answer #17
18. Where should I look to see the peregrines at Pitt? Answer #18
19. What is a peregrine Fledge Watch? Answer #19
20. Where do young peregrines go when they leave home? Answer #20
- Question: Sitting on Eggs – or Not
- Question: Is She Eating Rocks?
- Question: Fidelity to Their Mates and Fighting
- Question: Start of Egg Laying
- Question: Time Between Eggs
- Question: Why are the eggs red?
- Question: Hatching
- Question: Where are the Parents?
- Question: What happens to the leftovers?
- Question: What roles do the parents play in raising the young?
- Question: Why are her eyes white?
- Question: Why is this bird face down on her nest?
- Question: Why and how are peregrines banded?
- Question: Are the chicks getting enough to eat?
- Question: How do peregrines get their names?
- -Question: The juveniles are a different color? For how long?
- -Question: Do they fledge all at once?
- -Question: Where should I be looking to see the peregrines at Pitt?
- Question: What is a Peregrine Fledge Watch?
- -Question: Where do young peregrines go when they leave home?
I have a hard time identifying what the parents are feeding the chicks, but sometimes it looks like a small rodent. Do they eat rodents as well as birds?
Peregrine falcons eat birds almost exclusively. In all the years I’ve observed the peregrines at the University of Pittsburgh I have never seen the adults come anywhere near the ground – not even if they drop their prey – so it would surprise me if they went there to hunt. It’s most likely you’re seeing a dead bird without a head. Prey quickly becomes unrecognizable when the peregrines start to eat it!
It is 8:45pm and I don’t see the parents on the nest. Are they close by ? Do they return at night? And if not where are they?
Thank you so much for the wealth of information. It is awesome to be able to watch the chicks and how the parents interact with them and care for them.
Do peregrines recognize their offspring if encountered later in life and if so, do they acknowledge them? I am curious about this.
I don’t know for sure if peregrines recognize their offspring later in life but I will tell you a story that causes me to think they do.
Several years ago – around 2005 or so – Dr. Tony Bledsoe, Karen Lang and I were standing on the north side of the Cathedral of Learning chatting about peregrines. We could see both Dorothy and Erie perched on the building. As we watched Dorothy made a wailing sound and both birds flew out to meet a peregrine approaching the building. The visiting peregrine seemed to know the building and its perches. Dorothy and Erie flew with it back and forth across the north face. There was no hostility. Eventually it flew off to the east and was gone.
I think it’s possible the visiting peregrine was one of their offspring who came back to see them briefly and that’s why they greeted it and didn’t attack. But we’ll never know for sure.
Thanks Kate for sharing the story. I bet it was one of their offspring.
Am wondering, how long after the chicks fledge do they continue to return to their nest?
They come back for a day or two, especially if one of their siblings hasn’t fledged and is still being fed at the nest, but then they are gone. At that point the only way to see them is from the ground.
Thank you for the information. Will miss being able to watch them up close.
Kate, i have a couple of questions about the peregrine falcons-I have been watching a couple of other webcams one here in NJ & one in Manitobu. I was wondering do the birds ever drink water or anything? I was watching the chicks here in Jersey eating & it looked like one of them ate the leg from whatever bird that the parent brought for dinner to them & sometimes it looks like they are even eating a bit of the feathers from the prey. Do they eat the leg & feathers from time to time?
Thanks for posting the pictures of the fledlings-I don’t watch this website as often now since the birds are rarely in the nest anymore but I can still watch the other 2 websites for about another month since the chicks on both were born around Memorial Day.
Peregrines don’t need to drink water because they get enough liquid from the birds they eat. And yes, they do eat feathers and feet sometimes. This gives them roughage so their crops can grind up their food. The crop substitutes for their lack of teeth.
Walking in Schenley Park Monday morning this week down by Panther Hollow Lake we saw a young Red Tailed Hawk walking on the ground picking at something and as we got closer “he” flew up on the lamp post. We could see that he still is learning to fly a little better. Later we saw him from the bridge above still going from one lamp post to the next.