Description

Large falcon, medium-sized hawk. Pale brown back and markings. Whitish chest with brown spots and bars. Dark mustache mark on face. Dark ear patch. Long pointed wings. Dark patch in "armpits."

 

Habitat

Prairie Falcons inhabit grasslands, shrub-steppe, deserts, and other open areas of the West up to about 10,000 feet elevation. During the winter, they also reside in cultivated fields, lakeshores, desert scrub, as well as feedlots where European Starlings may provide a steady food source.

 

Diet

Prairie Falcons eat large numbers of ground squirrels during the breeding season, as well as birds including Horned Larks, Cliff Swallows, and Mourning Doves, as well as small rodents, lizards, and insects. At high elevations they eat rosy-finches and pikas. During winter ground squirrels are dormant, and birds are a much more important part of this bird's diet.