Food Habits of Peregrine Falcons in Kentucky

344 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 37, NO. 4

mientras que el otro era un ejemplar nacido el afio an- of the birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North terior, por lo que sospechamosque podria ser un pollo Africa, Vol. 2. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, U.K. de la pareja que colaboracon susprogenitores para sacar DONAZAR,J.A. 1993. Los buitres ibtricos. Biologiay con- adelante la nidada y, de estftforma, va cogiendo expe- servacitn.J.M Reyero, Madrid, Spain. riencia mientras 11egaa la madurez sexual que se pro- FORS•tAN,D. 1997. The raptors of Europe and Middle duce un afio despu•s. East. A handbook of Field Identification. T. & A.D. [Traducci6n de los autores] Poyser,London, U.K. KIMBALL,R.T., P.G. PARKER,AND J.C. BEDNARZ.2003. The ACKNOWLEDGMENTS occurrence and evolution of cooperativebreeding We would like to thankJ.C. Bednarz,J.A. Donftzar,and among the diurnal raptors (Accipitridae and Falco- two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful com- nidae). Auk 120:717-729. ments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. We acknowl- KORPI 'MAIn,E., K. IAHTI, C.A. MAY, D.T. Pain, N, G.B. edge Lander Astorkin, Fernando Ruiz Moneo, andJavier POWELL,P. TOLONEN,•'•O J. WETTON.1996. Copula- Elorriaga for the field assistance. tory behaviourand paternitydetermined by DNA fin- gerprintings in kestrel: effects of cyclic food abun- LITERATURE CITED dance. Anim. Behav. 51:945-955. MAPmS,J.S., J.L. DICKINSON,AND J. HAYDOCK.1999. Ge- ALCOCK,J. 1993. Animal Behavior,5th Ed. Sinauer Asso- netic monogamyin Long-eared Owls. Condor101:854- ciates, Sunderland, MA U.S.A. 859. BIJt,SMA,R. 1980. De Boomvalk. Kosmos, Utrecht, Ant- ROHNER, C. 1997. Non-territorial "floaters" in Great werpen, Belgium. Horned Owls:space use during a cyclicpeak of snow- CHAPMAN,A. 1999. The Hobby. Arlequin Press,Essex, shoe hares. Anim. Behar. 53:901-912. U.K. CRAMP,S. AND K.E.L. SIMMONS(EDS.). 1980. Handbook Received 15 November 2002; accepted 13 August 2003

j. RaptorRes. 37(4):344-349 ¸ 2003 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc.

FOOD HABITS OF PEREGRINE FALCONS IN KENTUCKY

KRISTiNAM. CARTER,1 MICHAEL J. LACKI,AND MATTHEW R. DZ•ALAK Departmentof Forestry,University of Kentucky,Lexin•on, KY 40546 U.S.A.

LAURA S. BURFORD KentuckyDepartment of Fish and WildlifeResources, Wildlife Diversity Program, Frankfort, KY 40601 U.S.A.

RONALD O. BETHANY LouisvilleGas and ElectricCompany, Trimble County Station, Bedford, KY 40006 U.S.A.

KEyWORDS: PeregrineFalcon; Falco peregrinus;food hab- the restoredPeregrine Falcon population occupiesstruc- zts;human-made habitat;, Kentucky; monitoring. turally similar human-made breeding locations (Tordoff et al. 2001); however,land use adjacent to thesebreeding Many studieson PeregrineFalcons (Falco peregrinus) in- locationsoften is variable and may be reflected in the clude observationsof prey taken (White et al. 2002). As diet of the birds. For example, in Kentucky,three pairs a consequence of the Peregrine Falcon's cosmopolitan of Peregrine Falcons occupy human-made breeding lo- distribution and adaptability,inferences derived from cationsincluding bridges and power plants.Land usead- food habit studiesoften are limited to the study area in jacent to the breeding locations varies from predomi- which they were conducted (Ratcliffe 1993, Schneider nanfly urban at one breeding location to predominanfiy and Wilden 1994, Rejt 2001, Serra et al. 2001). In the rural at the other two breeding locations. MidwesternUnited States,a large proportion (0.70) of Food-habitsdata from this population would be useful in enhancing our understanding of prey use among hab- E-mail address: [email protected] itat typeswithin the region, monitoring potential expo- DECEMBER 2003 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 345

sure to contaminants in restored populations, and devel- Table 1. Percent occurrence and percent biomass of oping future management and conservation strategies. prey taken by three pairs of Peregrine Falconsin Ken- However, few studies have quantified Peregrine Falcon tuckybased on prey remains,pellets, and observationsof food habits in this region (Myers and Pease 1995). As prey captures (N = 465), March 1999-December 2001 a part of a statewideeffort to monitor Peregrine Falcons, Scientificnames of bird speciesare given in Appendix our objectivewas to quantify and to compare the diet of Peregrine Falconsin Kentucky among habitatsand sea- FREQUENCY BIOMASS sons. SPECIES (%) (%) STUDY AREAS AND METHODS EuropeanStarling b,c,d 35 14 The studyarea is a 175-kmsegment of the Ohio River Rock Dove b,c,d 27 70 Valley in the Outer BluegrassPhysiographic Region of Eastern Meadowlark b,c,d 8 3 Kentucky.Breeding locationsinclude an interstatebridge BlueJay b,c,a 7 3 spanning the Ohio River in Jefferson County (Louisville, Brown-headed Cowbird c,d 5 1 KY; Urban I), and smokestacksassociated with power Red-wingedBlackbird c,d 4 1 plants in Trimble and Carroll counties (Rural I and II, Northern Flicker c,d 3 2 respectively).The topographyat thesesites is nearly level Common Grackle b,c,a 2 1 to moderately sloping and dominated by upland oaks Mourning Doveb,c,a 2 1 (i.e., QuercusruN'a, Q. alba), hickories ( Caryaspp.), and yellow-poplar (Liriodendrontulipifera) on the slopes and Northern Mockingbirdc,a 2 0.4 pin oak (Quercuspalustris), eastern cottonwood (Populus a Speciescomprising <1% of observations(0.1-0.7% of total bto- deltoides),silver maple (Acersaccharinurn), and eastern syc- mass) included American Robin c, Killdeer c, Red-bellied Wood- amore (Platanusoccidentalis) in the floodplains. peckerc, EasternTowhee c,d, House Sparrow•, Wood Thrushd, Yel- Land use adjacent to thesebreeding locationswas the low-billed Cuckoob, Northern CardinaF, Scarlet Tanagerc, most notable difference among sites. To characterize Northern Rough-winged Swallow%American Coot% Pectoral general landscapeattributes at thesesites, we used a geo- Sandpiperd, Bonaparte's Gulld, Common Nighthawkd, Brown graphic information system(GIS; ArcView©, ESRI, Red- Thrasherd, White-eyedVireo d, Cedar Waxwingd, Hairy Wood- lands, California) and Kentucky and Indiana GAP anal- peckerd, Baltimore Oriole%and a batc. ysisProgram data (Center for Remote Sensingand GIS b Speciesrecorded at Jeft•rson County,KY (Urban I). 1996, Mid-American Remote SensingCenter 2001) to de- c Speciesrecorded at Trimble County,KY (Rural I). termine the proportion of three land use classes,includ- d Speciesrecorded at Carroll County,KY (Rural II). ing urban/developed, agriculture, and forest, within a 10-kin radius of each breeding location. We collected prey remains and pellets, and recorded visual observationsof foraging Peregrine Falconsat ter- We derived 95% confidenceintervals for Simpson'sin- ritorial sitesduring March 1999-December 2001. During dex using a jackknife resampling technique (Krebs spring and summer, Peregrine Falconsbring much of 1989), and we report results as Simpson'sindex + 95% their prey to the nest associatedwith courtshipand the confidence interval. feeding of young, allowing a greater number of speci- mens to be collected compared to fall and winter (Rat- RESULTS cliffe 1993). We examined pellet contentsaccording to the methods of Sabo and Laybourne (1994). We com- General landscapeattributes differed among breeding pared prey remains to museum specimensfor identifi- locations. Urban I is predominantly urban/developed cation (Oro and Tella 1995). Each speciesidentified in (0.70), with some agriculture (0.14), and little forest a pellet or as a prey remain was considered to be one (0.07 of landscapewithin 10-km radius). Rural I and Ru- occurrence, unlessmultiples of the samebody part were ral II are largely agriculture (0.48 and 0.46, respectively) present (Mersmann et al. 1992). and forest (0.44 and 0.47, respectively),with little urban- We calculatedand compared percent occurrenceand percent biomassof prey taken over all sites,among sites ization/development (0.02 and 0.01, respectively). and seasons,and accordingto seasonalstatus of the prey In all, we collected465 samples(N = 384 prey remains, (i.e., resident, summer resident, winter resident, tran- N -- 54 pellets,N = 27 observedprey captures).We col- sient;Mengel 1965). For analysesamong seasons, we clas- lected 212 samplesat Rural I, 192 at Rural II, and 61 at sified samplesas spring (March-May), summer (June- Urban I. At Urban I, many prey remains were inaccessi- August), fall (September-November), and winter ble and likely fell into the Ohio River. We identified 21 (December-February). We calculatedpercent biomass by different prey speciesat Rural I, 20 at Rural II, and s•x multiplying the number of individualsin a speciesby the at Urban I (Table 1). We identified 20 different prey spe- mean massfor that speciesand then divided that value by the total biomassof all species(Dunning 1984, Corser cies during spring, 24 during summer, five during fall, et al. 1999). We calculated Simpson'sindex of diversity and sevenduring winter.Across all sitesand seasonscom- (l-D) and compared diversityindices among sites and bined, Rock Doves (Columbalivia) and European Star- seasons(Krebs 1989). Simpson's index varies between 0 lings (Sturnusvulgaris) were the most frequent prey and and 1, with diversityincreasing as valuesapproach one. comprised84% of the total biomassin the diet of Pere- 346 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 37, NO. 4

Table 2. Comparison of percent occurrence and percent biomassof prey taken among three pairs of Peregrine Falcons in Kentucky based on prey remains, pellets, and observationsof prey captures (N = 465), March 1999- December 20017 Scientific names are given in Appendix.

JEFFERSONCOUNTY TRIMBLECOUNTY CARROLLCOUNTY (URBANI; N = 61) (RURALI; N = 212) (RuP,• II; N = 192)

FREQUENCY BIOMASS FREQUENCY BIOMASS FREQUENCY BIOMASS SPECIES (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) European Starling 12 2 18 8 60 32 Rock Dove 75 95 23 67 16 56 Eastern Meadowlark 0 0 13 6 3 2 BlueJay 0 0 9 4 7 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 0 0 9 2 0 0 Red-wingedBlackbird 0 0 9 3 0 0 Percentoccurrence and percentbiomass of all other specieswas --<5%. grine Falconsin Kentucky (Table 1). Peregrine Falcons the diet (Table 3). In summer (N = 319), EuropeanStar- preyedheavily on residentbirds (>97%). lings and Rock Dovestogether comprised>70% occur- At Urban I, Rock Dovesand European Starlingswere rence and >90% of the biomass in the diet (Table 3). the most frequent prey, but Rock Dovescomprised 95% During fall (N = 14), European Starlingsand BlueJays of the biomass in the diet (Table 2). At Rural I, Rock ( Cyanocittacristata) were the most frequent prey and com- Doves, European Starlings, and Eastern Meadowlarks prised the majority of the biomassin the diet (Table 3). (Sturnella magna) had the highest percent occurrence In winter (N = 20), European Starlingswere the majority and together comprised81% of the biomassin the diet of the diet in terms of occurrence and biomass (Table (Table 2). At Rural II, European Starlingswere the most 3). The diet of Peregrine Falcons was most diverse in frequent prey; however,Rock Doveswere a majority of spring (1-D = 0.88 -+ 0.01), slightly less diverse in fall the biomass in the diet of falcons (Table 2). The diet of and summer (1-D = 0.80 -+ 0.06, and 1-D = 0.75 -+ 0.01, at Rural I was most diverse (1-D = 0.88 + 0.01), followed respectively),and least diverse in winter (1-D = 0.62 -+ by Rural 2 (1-D = 0.63 -+ 0.04), and Urban I (1-D = 0.52 0.15). -+ 0.24). DISCUSSION In spring (N = 112), European Starlings, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Rock Doves were the most frequent Resultsof this study are consistentwith other research prey taken and comprisedthe majorityof the biomassin that identified Rock Dovesas a primary prey item in the

Table 3. Comparisonof percent occurrenceand percent biomassof prey taken by Peregrine Falconsamong seasons in Kentuckybased on prey remains,pellets, and observationsof prey captures(by/N = 465), March 1999-December 2001.a Scientificnames of bird speciesare given in Appendix.

SPRING(N = 112) SUMMER(N= 319) FALL (N = 14) WINTER (N= 20)

FREQ. BIOMASS FREQ. BIOMASS FREQ. BIOMASS FREQ. BIOMASS SPECIES (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) European Starling 22 12 37 13 36 19 65 40 Rock Dove 14 51 33 78 14 50 5 20 Eastern Meadowlark 18 10 0 0 0 0 5 3 BlueJay 13 7 0 0 29 16 10 6 Common Grackle 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Flicker 5 5 0 0 14 12 5 5 Brown-headed Cowbird 0 0 6 1 7 2 0 0 Red-wingedBlackbird 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 Red-bellied Woodpecker 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 American Coot 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 24 Percentoccurrence and percentbiomass of all other specieswas -<5%. 2003 SHORT COMMUtq•CAT•OtqS 347

diet of Peregrine Falconsin urban and industrialhabitats presence of migratory species during spring coincided (Barber and Barber 1988, Myers and Pease 1995, Cade with an increasein diversityin the diet. Somespecies may et al. 1996a). Worldwide, Peregrine Falconsconsistently be more conspicuousto Peregrine Falconsin the spring rely on Columbidae as their main prey (Ratcliffe 1993, becauseof their mating displays.For example, the in- White et al. 2002). Other speciesrecorded in the diet of creasein the frequency of Eastern Meadowlarksin this urban Peregrine Falcons represented locally abundant studymay be attributed to flashymating displaysexhib- and resident species(Barber and Barber 1983, 1988, Bell ited in the spring. et al. 1996, Rejt 2001). Peregrine Falconsin Kentucky Monitoring efforts are important to endangered spe- exhibited similar tendencies;however, the percent oc- cies recovery (Cade et al. 1996b). Continued vigilance is currence and biomassof European Starlingsin the diet necessaryto assurelong-term successof restored popu- of Peregrine Falconsat Rural I and II were higher than lations.For example, although there are no data linking in other studies of urban and non-urban areas of (4.1- use of urban or industrial breeding locations to repro- 11.2% occurrence and 3-5% biomass) in North America ductive maladies, potential contaminants and possible (Barber and Barber 1988, Myers and Pease 1995, Corser routes of exposure through prey should be examined et al. 1999, Rejt 2001). Herbert and Herbert (1965) re- (e.g., Fimreite et al. 1970, DeMent et al. 1986, Cade and ported Peregrine Falconsfeeding regularly on European Bird 1990, Mora et al. 2002). Monitoring food habits and Starlingswhen they nested near roosting colonies. We other detailed aspectsof feeding ecologyin restored Per- observedroosting coloniesof European Starlingsat both egrine Falcon populations can be useful in detecting power plants in this study,which may have accountedfor long-term population exposure to food-related threats their frequent occurrencein the diet of these pairs. and in developing proactive management strategies. Throughout their range, Peregrine Falconshave been documented to prey on a diverseassemblage of taxa (Rat- REsuMEN.--Colectamosrestos de presasy egagropilasde cliffe 1993, White et al. 2002); however, few studies have sitits nido, e hicimos observacionesvisuales de captura compared the diversityof prey in the diets of Peregrine de presas(N = 465) para tres parejasde halctn peregrl- Falcons among territorial pairs. Based on description no (Falcoperegrinus) que anidaron en Kentuckyde marzo data, Bell et al. (1996) suggestedthat one pair of Pere- a diciembre de 2001. Las aves residentes dan cuenta del grine Falcons appeared to exhibit a more diverse diet 97% de la dieta del halctn, y especificamentela paloma than two other pairs that nested on bridgesin the vicinity zorita (C01umbalivia) y el estorninoeuropeo (Sturnusvul- of San Francisco Bay, CA. Similarly, in our study Pere- garis) abarcan el 62% de las presastomadas. La dieta de grine Falcons at Rural I had a more diverse diet com- una pareja rural del halctn peregrino fue m•ts diversa pared to the other rural pair. The proximity of Rural I (indice de diversidad = 0.88 + 0.01) que la de otras and Rural II to each other and their similarities in breed- parejas.La dieta fue m•tsdiversa en primavera (indice de ing structure type (i.e., power plants) would imply similar diversidad = 0.88 __+0.01) comparada con otras estaclo- availabilityof prey assemblages.The differencesin diver- nes. A pesar de las diferencias en el h•tbitat (urbano ver- sity we observedbetween these two pairs may be attri- susrural), los halconesperegrinos consistentementehi- buted to a difference in preference. Severalstudies ex- cieron presa sobre estorninoseuropeos y palomaszoritas amining the diet of Peregrine Falconshave demonstrated masque sobre otras especies.Los esfuerzosde monitoreo individual preferences for a specific prey type. For ex- para restaurar las poblaciones de halcones peregrinos ample, Cade et al. (1996a) surveyed Midwestern Pere- pueden beneficiarse de estudios cuantitativos de los h•t- grine Falcon food habits and identified casesin which bitos alimenticios,especialmente donde las especiesde some birds concentratedon single speciessuch as Com- presa consumidaspueden ser indicadores de la calidad mon Nighthawks (Ch0rdeilesminor) in Minnesota or cuck- ambiental. oos (Cuculussp.) in Wisconsin.Nonetheless, information [Traduccitn de Cfisar M•trquez] on prey speciesabundance would be necessaryto deter- mine whether differences were attributed to availability ACKNOWLEDGMENTS of prey or to preference. Funding for this project was provided by a grant from Seasonalvariation in the diet of Peregrine Falcons the KentuckyDepartment of Fish and Wildlife Resources could likely represent differences in prey availability and by the Universityof KentuckyCollege of Agriculture. (Cade et al. 1996a, Serra et al. 2001). For example, mi- We thank the Kentucky Utilities Generating Station at gratory speciesincrease in frequencyin the diets of Per- Ghent, KY, and Louisville Gas and Electric Company, egrine Falconsduring spring and fall, whereas the per- Trimble County Station, Bedford, KY, for accessto the centage of resident birds decreases(Ratcliffe 1993, Cade sites and cooperation in collecting data. We thank L. Pe- rez for assistance in collection of data. T. Cade, H. Tor- et al. 1996a, Rejt 2001, Serra et al. 2001). Resultsof this doff, and D. Dekker provided insightfulreviews of an ear- study reflected the lowest frequency of Rock Doves and lier version of this manuscript. This research (KAES European Starlings in the spring coinciding with the 02-09-55) is connected with a project of the Kentucky presence of migratory speciessuch as Common Night- Agricultural Experiment Station and is published with hawks and Scarlet Tanagers (Piranga olivacea).Also, the the approval of the Director. 348 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 37, No. 4

LITERATURE CITED MENGEL,R.M. 1965. The birds of Kentucky. Ornithol. Monogr. No. 3. Allen PressInc., Lawrence, KS U.S.A. BARBER,J.C. AND M.M. BARBER.1983. Prey of an urban MERSMANN,TJ., D.A. BUEHI.ER,J.D. FRASER,AND J.K.D. PeregrineFalcon. MD BirdLife39:108-110. SEEGAR.1992. Assessingbias in studiesof Bald Eagle -- AND --. 1988. Prey of an urban Peregrine food habits.J. Wildl.Manage. 56:73-78. Falcon--part II. MD BirdLife44:37-39. MID-AMEmCANREMOTE SENSING CENTER. 2001. Vegetation BELL, D.A., D.P. GREGOIRE,AND B.J. WALTON. 1996. map of Kentucky.Murray State University,Murray, KY Bridge use by Peregrine Falconsin the San Francisco U.S.A. Bay area. Pages 15-24 in D. Bird, D. Varland, and J. MORA, M., R. SKILES,B. MCKINNEY, M. PAREDES,D. BUCK- Negro lEDS.],Raptors in human landscapes.Academ- LER, D. PAPOULIAS,AND D. KI,EIN. 2002. Environmental ic Press,San Diego, CA U.S.A. contaminantsin prey and tissuesof the PeregrineFal- CADE,TJ. ANDD.M. BIRD.1990. Peregrine Falcons,Falco con in the Big Bend Region, Texas, U.S.A. Environ. peregrinus,nesting in an urban environment: a review. Pollut. 116:169-176. Can. Field-Nat. 104:209-218. MYERS,L.M. ANDJ.L. PEASE.1995. Analysisof Peregrine --, M. MARTELL, P. REDIG, G.A. SEPTON, AND H.B. Falcon (Falcoperegrinus) food habits. Iowa BirdLip 2: TOROOFF.1996a. Peregrine Falcons in urban North 25-29. America. Pages 3-14 in D. Bird, D. Varland, and J. ORO, D. ANDJ. TELLA.1995. A comparisonof two meth- Negro lEDs.], Raptorsin human landscapes.Academ- ods for studyingthe diet of the Peregrine Falcon.J. ic Press,San Diego, CA U.S.A. RaptorRes. 29:207-210. --, J.H. ENDERSON,AND J. LINTHICUM.1996b. Guide RATCLIFFE,D. 1993. The Peregrine Falcon, 2nd Ed. T. & to managementof Peregrine Falconsat the eyrie.The A.D Poyser,London, U.K. Peregrine Fund, Boise,ID USA. REJT,L. 2001. Feeding activity and seasonalchanges in CENTER FOR REMOTE SENSING AND GIS. 1996. Indiana prey compositionof urban Peregrine FalconsFalco pe- landcover/landuse. Indiana State University, Terre reg•inus.Acta Ornithol.36:165-169. Haute, IN U.S.A. SAGO,B.A. ANDR.C. LAYBOURNE.1994. Preparation of avi- CORSER,J.D., M. AMARAL,C.J. MARTIN,AND C.C. RIMMER. an material recovered from pellets and as prey re- 1999. Recoveryof a cliff-nestingPeregrine Falcon, Fal- mains.J. RaptorRes. 28:192-193. coperegrinus, population in northern New York and SCHNEIDER,R. ANDI. WILDEN.1994. Choice of prey and New England,1984-1996. Can. Field-Nat. 113:472-480. feeding activityof urban Peregrine FalconsPalco pere- DEMENT, S.H., jd. CHISOLMJR., J.C. BARBER,AND J.D. grinusduring the breeding season.Pages 203-209 in STRANDBERG.1986. Lead exposurein an "urban" Per- B.-U. Meyburg and R.D. Chancellor [EDS.], Raptor conservationtoday. Pica Press,East Sussex,U.K. egrine Falcon and its avian prey.J. Wildl.Dis. 22:238- SERRA,G., M. LUCENTINI, AND S. ROMANO. 2001. Diet and 244. prey selectionof nonbreeding Peregrine Falconsin DUNNING,J.B., JR. 1984. Body Weightsof 686 speciesof an urban habitat of Italy.J. RaptorRes. 35:61-64. North American birds. Western Bird Banding Associ- TORDOFF,H.B., M.S. MARTELL,P.T. REDIG,AND MJ. SO- ation Monograph No. 1. Eldon Publishing, Cave LENSKY.2001. Midwest Peregrine Falcon restoration, Creek, AZ U.S.A. 2000 report. Bell Museum of Natural History/The FIMREITE,N., R.W. FYFE,AND J.A. KEITH.1970. Mercury Raptor Center. Universityof Minnesota, St. Paul, MN contamination of Canadian prairie seed eaters and U.S.A. their avian predators. Can.Field-Nat. 84:269-276. WHITE, C.M., NJ. CLUM,TJ. CADE,AND W.G. HUNT. 2002. HERBERT, R.A. AND K.G.S. HERBERT. 1965. Behavior of Peregrine Falcon (Falcoperegrinus). In A. Poole and F. Peregrine Falconsin the New York City region. Auk Gill lEDS.], The Birds of North America, No. 660. The 82:62-94. Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia,PA U.S.A. KREBS,C.J. 1989. Ecologicalmethodology. Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY U.S.A. Received 14 May 2003; accepted24 July 2003 DECEMBER 2003 SHOR•r COMMUNICATIONS 349

Appendix. Common and scientific names of prey taken by three pairs of Peregrine Falcons nesting in Kentucky based on observationsof prey remains, pellets,and prey captures (N = 465), March 1999-December 2001.

FAMILY SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME

Rallidae Fulica americana American Coot Charadriidae CharadriusvociJ•rus Killdeer Scolopacidae Calidrismelanotos Pectoral Sandpiper Laridae Larus philadelphia Bonaparte's Gull Columbidae Columba livia Rock Dove Zenaida macroura Mourning Dove Cuculidae Coccyzusamericanus Yellow-billedCuckoo Caprimulgidae Chordeilesminor Common Nighthawk Picidae Picoidesvillosus Hairy Woodpecker Melanerpescarolinus Red-bellied Woodpecker Colaptesauratus Northern Flicker Vireonidae Vireogriseus White-eyed vireo Corvidae Cyanocittacristata Blue Jay Hirundinidae Stelgidopteryxserripennis Northern Rough-wingedSwallow Turdidae Hylocichlamustelina Wood Thrush Turdusmigratorius American Robin Mimidae Mimus polyglottos Northern Mockingbird Toxostomarufum Brown Thrasher Sturnidae Sturnusvulgaris European Starling Bombycillidae Bombycillacedrorum Cedar Waxwing Thraupidae Piranga olivacea Scarlet Tanager Emberizidae Pipiloerythrophthalmus Rufous-sidedTowhee Cardinalidae Cardinalis cardinalis Northern Cardinal Icteridae Sturnellamagna Eastern Meadowlark Agelaiusphoeniceus Red-wingedBlackbird Quiscalusquiscula Common Grackle Molothrus ater Brown-headed Cowbird Icterusgalbula Baltimore Oriole Passeridae Passerdomesticus House Sparrow Vespertilionidae Myotissp. Bat