Peregrine falcon Information

This information was gathered from a number of sources, most particularly
The Peregrine Falcon (1995: Alvin, Virginia, and Robert Silverstein).

Inside the Egg
The Peregrine chick has its head tucked under its wing. A large muscle called the hatching muscle runs from the middle of the neck to the top of the head. About 30 days after incubation has started, this muscle contracts. The chick's head snaps up and the egg tooth, a hard pointed knob on top of the beak, cracks the inside of the eggshell. This creates a "pip" - a small hole with tiny cracks spreading out across the shell. One to two days after pipping, the chick begins moving around in the shell. The egg tooth scrapes against the eggshell, cutting a ring through it. 33 days after the egg is laid, the chick breaks out. Left: In this picture taken from NSP's BirdCam last year, Mae feeds the first chick to hatch.


After Hatching The newly hatched chick is called an eyas. When first born, eyases are helpless. One parent (often the the female but sometimes the male - for example, "Chase" at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota) stays with the chicks while the other finds food for the brood. Eyases eat an incredible amount of food - but then, they double their weight in only six days and at three weeks will be ten times birth size. Newly hatched chicks are wet and covered with white down. But by three weeks of age, brownish juvenile feathers can be seen poking through the white fuzz. By five or six weeks of age, the white fuzz has been completely replaced by brown feathers. The eyases can be observed jumping around and testing their wings, getting ready to fly. Right: This BirdCam picture was taken at about 20 days of age.

		Flying At right around forty days, young Peregrines begin flying. Peregrine parents encourage flight by "baiting" the young with food, which is no longer neatly prepared and fed directly to the young. It is a lot of fun to watch young Peregrines chasing each other and everything else! As in many other species, Peregrine young learn in part through "playing" - however, this play can be deadly serious when hunting is involved. Peregrines hunt and eat other birds and are famed for their speed (stooping, or diving, Peregrines have been clocked at speeds of up to 220mph) and aerial prowress.
Above: Mae is feeding her young out on the platform. As the chicks get bolder, they begin to explore the platform. Here, the chicks still have a great deal of white fuzz.