Birds

A prairie falcon beak is bluish with a dark tip, while the top of its head is variably gray-brown and streaked dusty.  Part of the falcon cheek and its throat is pale and it has a brown-black moustache.  There is also a mark that extends from below the forward edge of the eye down the side of its chin.  The prairie falcon also has dorsal feathers on its back and wings that are a light tan color, while the under parts are somewhat buff.  Its chest is also light with an increasing number of blackish spots going towards its rear.  Its legs and feet are yellow with black talons and its tail varies from grayish to rusty.   Prairie falcons' tails also have a brown cast of ten dusky bars tipped with white.  It has sizeable pointed wings, which are 18 inches in length and are trimmer than the similar sized peregrine.  When prairie falcons are in flight, they are more dashing than the peregrine falcons, alternating a series of rapid stokes with short glides, and the most notable characteristic is the black patch under the wing extending from the body outward to about one fourth the length of its wing. 

Prairie falcons are probably just as fast as peregrine falcons, however, they do not typically use the same hunting strategy.  Prairie falcons hunt small mammals and their main prey is ground squirrels; they also hunt birds and insects.  They actively search for prey during flight, then they catch it on the ground or close to the ground after a low angled swoop from the air. 

Their nest is located on a cliff face using a ledge, cavity, crevice or an abandoned nest of eagles, hawks or ravens.  A prairie falcon will lay five eggs at time, at any height safe from mammalian predators.  Young will leave the nest within 5 weeks after the eggs hatch.