Arizona’s vast and varied landscape, ranging from deep canyons to high-elevation forests and expansive deserts, serves as a suitable environment for numerous raptor species. The state’s ecological diversity, including a wide array of prey animals and distinct geological features, supports a healthy population of birds of prey. Among these swift predators, falcons are a prominent group, thriving across different regions of the state.
Primary Falcon Species Residing in Arizona
The Peregrine Falcon is often seen throughout the year across diverse elevations in Arizona. Adults are distinguished by a slate-gray or bluish-black back and wings, contrasting with a white or tan chest marked by thin dark lines. A notable feature is the dark hood and the distinct malar stripe, sometimes described as “side-burns,” that frames the face.
The Prairie Falcon is a year-round resident across the state, though its numbers increase in the winter with an influx of migrating birds. This falcon is generally paler than the Peregrine, featuring light brown upperparts and a whitish underside. A key identifying mark in flight is the dark patch under the wing near the body, known as the axillaries. Its face shows a single dark malar stripe on each cheek, which helps differentiate it from its cousin.
The American Kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon found in Arizona, maintaining a year-round presence. This species exhibits sexual dimorphism, meaning males and females look different. The male has striking blue-gray wings and a rust-colored back, while the female displays more uniform rufous wings and back with distinct barring. Both sexes have two prominent black vertical marks on a white face.
Habitat and Geographic Range Within the State
Peregrine Falcons occupy habitats from low desert cliffs to high mountain ranges, with a large concentration in the Grand Canyon region. They utilize sheer cliff faces and river canyons, such as those along the Mogollon Rim, for nesting and hunting. The Peregrine Falcon has also colonized urban areas, using tall buildings and skyscrapers as substitutes for natural cliffs.
Prairie Falcons prefer the expansive, open country of Arizona, making their home in arid grasslands, desert scrub, and the open foothills of mountain ranges. They are often spotted near agricultural flatlands and farm fields where prey is abundant. They favor areas with minimal tree cover that would impede their hunting runs.
The American Kestrel is ubiquitous across Arizona, inhabiting a variety of open environments including desert, grassland, and even suburban areas. Kestrels are frequently observed perched on utility wires, fence posts, or atop tall saguaro cacti, which provide an excellent vantage point for surveying their territory. In the Sonoran Desert, they routinely use existing cavities in saguaros, often those excavated by woodpeckers, as nest sites.
Unique Hunting and Nesting Characteristics
The Peregrine Falcon is renowned for its hunting technique called the “stoop,” a high-speed dive from extreme altitudes that can reach speeds approaching 200 miles per hour. This unparalleled aerial maneuver is primarily used to strike avian prey directly out of the sky. For nesting, the Peregrine does not construct a nest but instead lays its eggs in a simple scrape, or depression, on a cliff ledge or the gravel rooftop of a tall human structure.
The Prairie Falcon employs a high-speed, low-to-the-ground flight profile when pursuing birds, but it also hunts from a stationary perch or in flight, targeting small mammals and rodents. Unlike many birds, Prairie Falcons also do not build a nest, instead using a protective overhang on a cliff face to create a scraped depression for their eggs. Their diet largely consists of ground squirrels, rabbits, and various small to medium-sized birds.
American Kestrels use a distinctive hunting style that includes hovering in mid-air, maintaining a fixed position above the ground before dropping swiftly onto unsuspecting prey. Their diet is diverse, consisting of large insects like grasshoppers, small reptiles, and rodents, reflecting their ability to hunt in varied terrain. As cavity nesters, they rely on natural tree holes, abandoned woodpecker cavities, or even man-made nest boxes for raising their young.