NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Prairie Falcon
Falco mexicanus Schlegel, 1850
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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. It will regularly take prey from the size of sparrows or finches to birds approximately its own weight, and occasionally much larger. The prairie falcon is the only larger falcon species native strictly to North America (others are found throughout the Americas and beyond, such as the peregrine falcon with its cosmopolitan distribution).
Wikipedia contributors, Prairie falcon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:07:30.149067+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Falco mexicanus Schlegel, 1850
- Name authority
- Schlegel, 1850
- Common name
- Prairie Falcon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Falconiformes
- Family
- Falconidae
- Genus
- Falco
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderFalconiformes
- familyFalconidae Leach, 1820
- subfamilyFalconinae Leach, 1820
- genusFalco Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesFalco mexicanus Schlegel, 1850
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Falco. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Amur FalconFalco amurensis Radde, 1863 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown FalconFalco berigora Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lanner FalconFalco biarmicus Temminck, 1825 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Australian FalconFalco cenchroides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-headed FalconFalco chicquera Daudin, 1800 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African HobbyFalco cuvierii A. Smith, 1830 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-breasted FalconFalco deiroleucus Temminck, 1825 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taita FalconFalco fasciinucha Reichenow & Neumann, 1895 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aplomado FalconFalco femoralis Temminck, 1822 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray FalconFalco hypoleucos Gould, 1841 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Laggar FalconFalco jugger J. E. Gray, 1834 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser KestrelFalco naumanni J. G. Fleischer, 1818 | FalconidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175603 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3DTGC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.