Peregrine falcon
Amazing fact
Peregrine falcons sometimes eat small prey in flight.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Peregrine falcons sometimes eat small prey in flight.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Peregrine falcon
- Scientific name
- Falco peregrinus
- Japanese name
- ハヤブサ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Falconiformes
- Family
- Falconidae
- Genus
- Falco
It lives all over the world except Antarctica. It looks like eagles and hawks, but its genes show that it is closely related to parrots.
It hunts in open places. When it spots prey, it dives down at tremendous speed and kicks the prey down with its feet.
Almost all of its food is birds. Around spring, it nests on places such as seaside cliffs and raises its young.
How the Peregrine falcon lives
They are active during the day. They often launch from cliffs or tall trees when they spot prey. They typically carry prey to a perch, pluck it and eat it.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: about 50 cm井の頭自然文化園
- Lifespan
- up to 20 years in the wild, up to 25 years in captivityUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- By day (diurnal)University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Mainly birds井の頭自然文化園
- Range
- Worldwide except Antarctica井の頭自然文化園
- Conservation status in Japan
- Near Threatened (NT)Assessed as Falco peregrinus japonensisMinistry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Peregrine falcon has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ハヤブサ
- 简体中文
- 游隼
- 繁體中文
- 游隼
- 한국어
- 매
- Español
- Halcón peregrino
- Français
- Faucon pèlerin
- Deutsch
- Wanderfalke
- Português (Brasil)
- Falcão-peregrino
- Italiano
- Falco pellegrino
- हिन्दी
- पेरेग्रीन फाल्कन
- العربية
- شاهين
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Alap-alap kawah
- Tiếng Việt
- Cắt lớn
- Русский
- Сапсан
- Türkçe
- Bayağı doğan
- বাংলা
- বহেরী বাজ
- اردو
- بہری
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 井の頭自然文化園 — ハヤブサChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Falco peregrinusChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Peregrine falcon, look for this
- Look for the black stripes on its white cheeks.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Peregrine falcon
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Falconidae
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