This dissertation describes the foraging habits and capture rates of four species of bird-hunting falcons; Peregrine (Falco peregrinus), Merlin (Falco colum-barius), Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), and Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus). Eight of the nine study areas were situated in western Canada in widely different habitats, and the observation periods intermittently included all seasons over 44 years, 1965-2008. The various chapters report and compare the location-specific hunting methods and choice of prey of these falcons.
In addition, the book reports on the population dynamics and nest site competition between Peregrines and Prairie Falcons on a sympatric breeding range in Alberta over a span of 48 years. The Peregrine became extirpated during the 1960s. Large-scale efforts to reintroduce the species in the 1990s seemed initially successful, resulting in seven new breeding pairs, but they dwindled to one, while the Prairie Falcons continued to do well.