Peregrine
Prey Species
(birds only) Identified in California
As you can see, Peregrines
consume small to mid-size birds
of all types, from tiny snowy plovers to herons and egrets. This is by no means
a comprehensive list of all the birds Peregrines dine on, but it
gives you a good idea of the variety they enjoy.
This list was compiled by the Santa
Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group based on observations of hunting
activities and study of debris collected from nests.
| Western Grebe |
Red-necked Grebe |
Eared Grebe |
| Pied-billed Grebe
|
Sooty Shearwater
|
Fork-tailed Storm Petrel |
| Pelagic Cormorant
|
Black-crowned Night Heron
|
Green-backed Heron |
| Cattle Egret
|
Snowy Egret
|
Mallard |
| Gadwall
|
Green-winged Teal
|
American Wigeon |
| Northern Pintail
|
Northern Shoveler
|
Cinnamon Teal |
| Ruddy
Duck
|
Wood Duck
|
Lesser Scaup |
| Common Goldeneye
|
Bufflehead
|
Common Merganser |
| Clapper Rail
|
Sora
|
American Coot |
| Black
Oystercatcher
|
American Avocet
|
Black-necked Stilt |
| Snowy
Plover
|
Semi-palmated Plover
|
K
illdeer |
| Mountain Plover
|
Black-bellied Plover
|
M
arbled
Godwit |
| Long-billed Curlew
|
Whimbrel
|
Willet |
| Greater Yellowlegs
|
Lesser Yellowlegs
|
Solitary Sandpiper |
| Spotted Sandpiper
|
Wandering Tattler
|
Red Phalarope |
| Short-billed Dowitcher
|
Long-billed Dowitcher
|
Common Snipe |
| Ruddy
Turnstone
|
Surfbird
|
Red Knot |
| Dunlin
|
Sanderling
|
Western
Sandpiper |
| Heermann's Gull
|
Bonaparte's Gull
|
Ring-billed Gull |
| Mew
Gull
|
California Gull
|
Western Gull |
| Common Tern
|
Forster's tern
|
Least Tern |
| black
tern
|
Elegant Tern
|
Caspian's Tern |
| Pigeon Guillemot
|
Xantus' Murrelet
|
Cassin's Auklet |
| Rhinoceros Auklet
|
Black-shouldered Kite
|
Sharp-shinned Hawk |
| American Kestrel
|
Blue Grouse
|
California Quail |
| Band-tailed Pigeon
|
Rock Dove
|
Mourning
Dove |
| Spotted Dove
|
Cockatiel
|
Budgerigar |
| Burrowing Owl
|
Common
Poorwill
|
Common Nighthawk |
| Black Swift
|
Vaux's Swift
|
White-throated
Swift |
| Hummingbird sp.
|
Belted
Kingfisher
|
Northern
Flicker |
| Acorn Woodpecker
|
White-headed
Woodpecker
|
Red-breasted
Sapsucker |
Lewis' Woodpecker
|
D
owny
Woodpecker
|
Hairy
Woodpecker |
| Pileated Woodpecker
|
Western
Kingbird
|
Ash-Throated
Flycatcher |
| Black Phoebe
|
Say's Phoebe
|
Horned
Lark |
| Tree Swallow
|
Violet-green
Swallow
|
Bank Swallow |
| Cliff Swallow
|
B
arn Swallow
|
Scrub
Jay |
Steller's Jay
|
Gray Jay
|
Clark's Nutcracker |
| Yellow-billed Magpie
|
American Crow
|
Common
Raven |
| Plain Titmouse
|
Chickadee sp.
|
White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch
|
Bewick's
Wren
|
Western
Bluebird |
| Mountain Bluebird
|
Townsend's Solitaire
|
Swainson's Thrush |
| Hermit Thrush
|
Varied
Thrush
|
American Robin |
| Northern Mockingbird
|
American Dipper
|
Cedar
Waxwing |
European Starling
|
Yellow-rumped
Warbler
|
Townsend's Warbler |
Wilson's Warbler
|
Y
ellow
Warbler
|
Black-headed
Grosbeak |
| Brown Towhee
|
Song Sparrow
|
Dark-eyed
Junco |
| White-crowned Sparrow
|
Fox Sparrow
|
Western
Meadowlark |
| Red-winged Blackbird
|
Brewer's Blackbird
|
Brown-headed
Cowbird |
| Northern Oriole
|
Hooded
Oriole
|
Western
Tanager |
| House Sparrow
|
Pine Siskin
|
American Goldfinch |
| Lesser Goldfinch
|
Lawrence's Goldfinch
|
Red Crossbill |
| Purple Finch
|
House
Finch
|
Evening
Grosbeak |
|
