Barbary Falcon
Falco peregrinus babylonicus (Ali and Ripley)
Falco pelegrinoides babylonicus (P. L. Sclater)

Identification: It is a bird about the size of a crow measuring about 38-48 cm. in length. Its plumage on the upper side is ash-gray, cross-barred with black. The crown is largely rufous or chestnut and ash-brown. The colour of the feathers around the eyes and cheeks is black. The chin, throat, breast and abdomen are white. The flanks and underwing coverts are barred blackish.

Habitat: It is found in barren, stony, semi-desert areas, near the scattered trees of the prosopis and xerophyte species.

Distribution: It is chiefly a winter visitor to Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and NWFP.

Breeding: It breeds between March and May and lays 3 -4 eggs. It has been reported to breed seldom in NWFP and Balochistan.

Food: It feeds upon partridges, sand grouses and other birds. It also kills gerbils, lizards and large insects for food.

Status: Rare