Prairie Falcon

The Prairie Falcon is a large, light brown-colored falcon ranging from around 37-47 cm in length. Some distinguishing characteristics of this bird include a large, dark eye, square shaped head, a dark ear patch, and a white area around the eye. The dark colored feathers on the underside of the wing closest to the head, which contrast well against the lighter color of the rest of the underwing are another distinctive feature of the Prairie Falcon. Males and females have similar plumage, but males are slightly smaller. Legs of Juveniles are bluish grey, turning yellow at approximately one year of age. Under parts are barred or spotted in adults and streaked in juveniles, and juvenile plumage has a rosy ting (Steenhof 1998).

Citations:

• Steenhof, Karen. 1998. Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/346