There are various species of Falcon living in the wild and around our environment. Falcons are the fastest living thing on planet earth, ten times faster than the cheetahs.
But unlike most birds that are herbivorous, these birds are strictly carnivorous like the hawks and eagles.
This article is an in-depth guide about their versatile feeding habits and behaviors in the wild and our environments.
Table of Contents
What Do Falcons Eat? 29 Things To Know
1. Do Falcons Eat Birds?
Falcons are predatory birds that feds on mostly other birds. Other birds make up at least 77% to 99% of these birds’ diet. About 450 North American species of birds prey to the Falcons.
Research reveals that Falcons are faster than all other animals in water and land and depend on their speed when hunting.
They prey on several animals ranging from common wood pigeons, doves, starlings, blackbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, jays, and many others.
2. Do Falcons Eat Bats?
Falcons eat birds twice their size because birds as large as sandhill cranes and those as small as hummingbirds have been consumed by falcons.
In addition to that, there is a particular falcon called the Bat falcon (Falcon rufigularis). It’s a species that preys explicitly on bats. The Peregrine falcon is another species that also feed on bats, rodents, and even fish.
3. Do Falcons Eat Bunnies?
All species of Falcons are carnivorous. In other words they only eat meat. Yes, though most of their diet is found around birds like ducks, waterfowl, pigeons, and songbirds, to name a few, it also eats most ground-dwelling mammals like rats, mice, bunnies, squirrels, and voles.
4. Do Falcons Eat Bird Berries?
The same way bird seeds and berries attract smaller birds in the wild, it also attracts falcons. There are different kinds of bird berries.
Some of them include Raspberry, Elderberry, Blackberry, and Beautyberry. These berries are all eaten by most birds, including falcons because their edible and also quite attractive.
5. Do Falcons Eat Bee?
Not a lot of birds out there will go for a diet like a bee. It is because bees have stringers, and birds don’t enjoy getting stung.
Nevertheless, some birds will still opt-in for a bee diet because they have learned the techniques of ripping apart the stingers to eat the bee.
An excellent example of such birds is the falcons, kingbirds, mockingbirds, and woodpeckers.
6. Do Falcons Eat Bones?
Some animals eat the body of their entire prey, including its feathers, organs, and bones. A perfect example of such animals is raptors and hawks.
On the flipside, Falcons do not specifically enjoy eating the bones of their prey, which is why it only eats a minimal quantity of bones because it’s a good source of vitamin D and calcium.
7. Do Falcons Eat Cats?
Some large birds of prey survive by preying on small mammals, and some of these animals include the likes of eagles, falcons, and hawks.
Carnivorous birds like falcons are the perfect example of an opportunist and, because of that, will feed on small mammals like cats if the occasion does surface.
8. Do Falcons Eat Crows?
A Falcon is a predatory bird that will mainly depend on its sight and speed when hunting other birds.
It will use its force and talons to kill a crow below while it’s in the air. Sometimes the falcon uses its hunting instincts by going straight for the neck when it attacks a crow.
On the other hand, crows also attack falcons to protect their territory from these predatory birds, especially during nesting and mating season.
9. Do Falcons Eat Cardinals?
Northern Cardinal is a bird mostly found in native North America, eastern United States, and southeastern Canada.
The Cardinal is considered prey to several birds, including Falcons, hawks, dogs, cats, snakes, red squirrels, blue jays, owls, eastern chipmunks, etc.
10. Do Falcons Eat Carrion?
Most Falcons like to eat their prey as fresh as possible and will rarely be seen feeding on dead animals.
But, out there is a specific falcon species called the “crested caracara” though known to hunt reptiles, fish, amphibians, and insects, its primary diet remains carrion.
You will often find this Falcon foraging for food in the wild and competing for carrions with vultures.
It is a rare falcon species, and it’s been threatened by developments in urban sprawls and farmlands.
11. Do Falcons Eat Chipmunks?
Chipmunks have no defensive mechanism to protect themselves from predators, they simple protect themselves by avoiding or hiding from predators.
But, as nature would have it, they can’t hide from some animals, especially those in the air like the falcons, hawks, and owls.
Asides from predatory birds like falcons, some ground dwellers still prey on chipmunks. Some of them include coyotes, lynxes, raccoons, bobcats, dogs, cats, and even snakes.
12. Do Falcons Eat Dogs?
Falcons are carnivorous that eat anything with flesh regardless of the size of the animal. All it will take for these opportunities bird is that the suitable situation surface.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that a falcon can kill pets like dogs and cats on its own. Instead, it will only attack them when they are very weak or at the brisk of death.
13. Do Falcons Eat Doves?
The most common prey for a predatory bird-like falcon is other birds themselves.
Other birds make as much as 80% of the falcon diet, and the birds eaten include doves, ptarmigan, pigeons, grouse, waterfowl, and smaller songbirds.
So, a falcon will most certainly eat a dove. Below is a link that shows a Falcon feeding on a dove – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SzPW2xOi7M4.
If you love your doves you should be careful and keep them safe from predatory birds like falcons.
14. Do Falcons Eat Eagles?
Eagles and falcons are both predatory birds that are carnivorous, which means they eat meat. The eagle is much larger than the falcon in size, but the falcon got the speed, being the fastest animal on earth.
When it comes to who feeds on the other, I think the reverse is the case because eagles mostly eat falcons.
But in an event when the eagle is young and inexperienced in its defense, the falcon will kill and eat the eagle.
15. Do Falcons Eat Frogs?
Falcons are not omnivorous, and so they stick strictly to meat because they are carnivorous. They have their most preferred diet preference being other birds and smaller animals.
They don’t hunt for frogs but will eat frogs when caught on sight because they won’t miss a chance to a meal like most carnivorous.
16. Do Falcons Eat Fish?
A peregrine falcon essential diet revolves around other birds that it can grip with its talons and speed.
Even though their core diet is smaller birds like pigeons and waterfowls, some falcons stick close to the riverside to hunt for fish.
Yes, Flacons do hunt for fish just like they do other birds in the wild. When hunting for fishes, it depends totally on its speed and little on sight, has it use its talons to pick the fish from the water.
17. Do Falcons Eat Fruit?
Unfortunately, unlike other predatory birds that are omnivorous feeding on both meat and fruits, Peregrine falcons do not eat fruits.
If you’re lucky to have a falcon as a pet, you should know that they do not eat fruits or vegetables.
18. Do Falcons Eat Finches?
Finches are smaller birds that belong to the family Fringillidae and feed mainly on seeds and edible nuts. The fact that falcons are predatory birds that hunt for other smaller birds will eat finches.
It can easily lift this smaller bird off the ground with its sharp talons and take it to its nest to devour.
Falcons are not the only birds that eat finches. Other predatory birds like eagles, hawks, and owls also feed on finches because it’s an easier prey than most birds.
19. Do Falcons Eat Gophers?
Falcons can be a very cunning hunter like most predators, except that these are strictly carnivorous, feeding on smaller birds.
Falcons do hunt for jays, pigeons, starlings, blackbirds, waterfowls, and smaller birds. They also feed on small animals like gophers, frogs, lizards, and snakes.
20. Do Falcons Eat Foxes?
Foxes are being hunted and eaten by several predators like wolves, owls, bears, badgers, eagles, and even humans. Falcons can’t hunt adult foxes because of their size when compared to the falcon.
Nevertheless, falcons hunt and eat baby foxes because they have lesser weight and easier prey than adult foxes.
21. Do Falcons Eat Geese?
Geese are a species of waterfowl from the family Anatidae. They are called waterfowl because their habitat is a transition between water and land.
They are about the same size compared with an adult falcon, except that geese are not carnivorous like the falcons. Falcons do hunt and eat young and adult geese when the opportunity arises.
22. Do Falcons Eat Lizards?
Falcons are larger birds of prey that eat smaller birds and other smaller animals, being that there are carnivorous and limited in size.
Lizards are easier prey to falcons when on air when compared to other prey, and because it’s an opportunity, falcons do eat lizards.
23. Do Falcons Eat Insects?
Falcon, hawks, eagles, vultures, and owls are predatory birds that feed on other smaller birds and insects, and rodents because of their meat-eaters.
24. Do Falcons Eat Nuts?
Many birds strictly feed on plants, fruits, and insects, while predatory birds are only carnivorous.
These birds have nothing to do with diets that don’t involve meat, and a perfect example of such a bird is the falcon. They don’t eat nuts.
25. Do Falcons Eat Mice?
Peregrine falcons are predatory birds that will feed on anything with flesh because, unlike most birds that feed on fruits and nuts, this one is strictly carnivorous.
Though they eat mostly other smaller birds, they do sometimes feed on rodents, mice, rats, and ground squirrels.
It will easily pick a mouse on the ground while on the air using its mighty talon combined with speed.
26. Do Falcons Eat Ravens?
Falcons and ravens are about the same size, adding to the fact that both are predatory birds.
The peregrine falcon, known for its versatile eating habits, does eat ravens even larger than its size.
27. Do Falcons Eat Parrots?
Parrots are prey to predatory birds. Some birds that would love to have a parrot meal among these birds are the falcon.
Raptorial birds like the Accipiter hawks, eagles, hawk-eagles, and falcons are among the species that feed on adult macaws and parrots.
28. Do Falcons Eat Plants?
There is absolutely no falcon that depends on plants for their diet because they aren’t herbivorous or omnivorous animals like other birds.
So, falcons do not plant instead they feed on smaller and medium-sized birds, rodents, and insects.
29. Do Falcons Eat Meat?
The only thing that falcons eat is meat. They are strictly carnivorous, being that these birds are predators that eat smaller birds and meat.
So, if you are lucky enough to have falcons as a pet, you should only feed them with meat.
Conclusion
Like other predators bird, falcons are carnivorous birds that eat other smaller birds and they even prey on twice their size.
There you have it, friends, the complete frequently asked question guide about falcons and their food preference in the wild.
