He's actually 15" long with a 40" wingspan

Over the summer it has been our great privilege to witness the comings and goings of a rare peregrine falcon. He favors the top left `shelf' of the Sciences Library, whence he regally surveys the campus looking for food. Sometimes he has his back to us and appears to be resting (with a 200-foot drop behind him); sometimes he's facing out, grooming and on the look-out.

Peregrines prey almost exclusively on birds--you may have noticed a reduction in the pigeon population lately! There are certainly very few visible from my ...