The peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus (Tunstall, 1771) in Serbia

This paper presents an overview ofsummarized data on the distribution, population,trend, ecology (habitat, feeding and breeding) andthreats to the peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus(Tunstall, 1771) in Serbia, with special reference tothe recent period. Peregrine falcon is in general widelydistributed sedentary bird, the habitat of which rangesfrom lowlands to high-mountainous areas at theapproximate altitudes of 85 to 2500 m. Current, ratherreduced breeding population from the period between2014 and 2018, mostly occurs in the eastern, and muchless in the southeastern, western, central and southernparts of the country. According to data for the period1977-1997, one rather small population was breedingin the mountainous regions of Kosovo and Metohija.There is no reliable evidence of this species breeding inVojvodina. In the distant past, the period from late 19thcentury to the 1970s, this species was very rare in Serbia.In the period 1977-1997, as well at the beginning of 21stcentury, the population increased from approximately40-60 to 65-90 pairs. The current population exhibited amarked decline with the estimated 30-50 breeding pairsin the period 2014-2018. The peregrine falcon mostlybreeds on the cliffs in rocky and hilly-mountainousareas up to 1.700 m of altitude. It mainly feeds onpigeons and doves, mostly Columba livia f. domestica, C.livia, C. palumbus, Streptopelia turtur and S. decaocto, aswell as thrushes Turdus spp., common starlings Sturnusvulgaris, crows and many other birds. Peregrine falconusually lays eggs from the second half of March to earlyApril, while the young start leaving the nest from lateMay to mid-June. Breeding success is on average 2.3young (varies between 1 and 4) per successful nesting(N = 53), whereas productivity is 1.9 young per pair (N= 64). Illegal killing of the peregrine falcons by pigeonbreeders and hunters represents a major threat anda cause of 94 % mortality of the species, thus being amajor problem of this species’ conservation in Serbia.