The Peregrine Falcon

Preface to thefirst edition xix Preface to the second edition xxiii Acknowledgements xxv Further acknowledgements xxxi Introduction -a reminiscence 1 1. THE PEREGRINE AND MAN Before the record began 7 The age of falconry 12 The age of game preserving 20 The pigeon fanciers 24 The egg collectors 25 The falconers today 28 The ornithologists 30 Man the dominant animal 32 2. THE PEREGRINE'S COUNTRY The coast 36 Inland 41 Other regions of the world 51 3. POPULATION TRENDS IN BRITAIN Practical problems of counting Peregrines 55 Establishing a base-line of population size 58 Short-term behaviour ofpopulation 60 Earlier population trends 62 The war-time decline 64 The pesticide crash 66 The recovery and increase 69 4. DISTRIBUTION AND NUMBERS IN BRITAIN South-east England 73 South-west England 76 South Wales 79 North Wales 81 Eastern England 85 Midlands and Lancashire Lowlands 86 The Pennines 87 Lakeland 89 The Cheviots 93 The Isle of Man 93 Southern Scotland 94 The Scottish Highlands and Islands 98 The southern and eastern Highlands 100 The northern and western Highlands 105 Ireland 111 5. FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS General aspects of prey selection 116 Food in the breeding season 120 Food outside the breeding season 131 Unusual prey 132 Food requirements 135 Predation level and impact 138 Hunting techniques and performance 144 6. NESTING HABITAT The nest site 161 The nesting cliff 167 Use of alternative sites and cliffs 174 Adaptation to other kinds of nesting place 176 7. THE BREEDING CYCLE: PAIRING AND COURTSHIP The pair-bond in winter 185 The pre-laying period 186 Pairing 186 Courtship, hunting and flight display 188 Courtship feeding 190 Ledge displays 191 Copulation 194 Threat 195 Variation in courtship behaviour 197 Dominance relations within the pair 198 Bigamy 199 Territorial and defence aggression 200 Reversed sexual size dimorphism 203 8. THE BREEDING CYCLE: LAYING TO FLEDGING The egg stage 205 The young stage 227 Brood size 245 Breeding performance 249 9. MOVEMENTS AND MIGRATION Outside Britain 254 Within Britain 255 Peregrine ringing returns affecting Britain and Ireland By C. J. Mead 259 10. BREEDING DENSITY AND TERRITORY Geographical differences in breeding density 267 Territorial behaviour and its influence on breeding density 270 Breeding density and food supply 274 Territorial behaviour and food supply 280 11. POPULATION DYNAMICS AND REGULATION The annual balance-sheet in numbers 285 The pre-1956 population 288 The post-1956 population 290 Limitations on breeding populations 292 Population stability and food supply 294 The non-breeding element of population 297 Status of non-breeding Peregrines 299 Sex ratio 300 Concluding thoughts on population dynamics 301 12. ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER BIRDS Other predators 304 Prey species 313 13. THE PESTICIDE STORY How it began 322 How it happened 324 The turning of the tide 328 A mystery resolved 329 The pattern of recovery 334 Marine pollution 344 Other countries 346 Some reflections 352 14. OTHER ENEMIES Mammal predators 356 Parasites and disease 358 Disease in the Peregrine By John Cooper 360 15. APPEARANCE, FORM AND GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION The nominate form 362 Other races 367 16. CONSERVATION AND THE FUTURE Appendices 1. Plant species in the text 385 2. Bird species in the text 386 3. Vertebrate non-avian species in the text 388 4. Calls ofthe Peregrine 389 5. Some English names ofthe Peregrine 391 Bibliography 392 Tables 1-31 405 Index 445