Prairie Falcon

Overview

The prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) is a medium-sized falcon found in Western North America. A separate species from the peregrine falcon, with which it shares some visual similarities, the prairie falcon is, essentially, an arid-climate divergence of earlier peregrine falcon lineage. It is thus able to thrive on a more meager, opportunistic diet compared to that of the peregrine, and is generally lighter in weight than a peregrine of similar wingspan. Having evolved in harsher and desert environments, often with low prey density, the prairie falcon has developed into an aggressive and opportunistic hunter of a wide range of both mammalian and avian prey, as well as occasional reptiles.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.