Peregrine Falcon - Fálco peregrinus

Peregrine Falcon - Fálco peregrinus

"A rare local falcon of coasts, mountains, and woods.  Best field marks are facial pattern, dark cap, and large size.  Flight is fast; only the Prairie Falcon is swifter.  Rarely soars.  It preys almost entirely on birds."  A Guide to Field Identification BIRDS of North America.

As I was driving Biggs Highway, ready to turn left onto Theodore Road I caught a glimpse of this fellow out of the corner of my eye on the right side of Biggs.  I made the turn and cautiously continued the turn, rolling down the truck window and quickly sighting in the camera.  Luckily I got these three photos before he disappeared.

More from Wikipedia:
The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), also known as the Peregrine,^[2] and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America,^[3] is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache". As is typical of bird-eating raptors, Peregrine Falcons are sexually dimorphic, females being considerably larger than males.^[4][5] The Peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 322 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high speed dive),^[6] making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.^[7][8] According to a National Geographic TV programme, the highest measured speed of a Peregrine Falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph).^[9][10]
The Peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world's most widespread raptor^[11] and one of the most widely found bird species. In fact, the only land-based bird species found over a larger geographic area is not always naturally occurring but one widely introduced by humans, the Rock Pigeon, which in turn now supports many Peregrine populations as a prey species. Both the English and scientific names of this species mean "wandering falcon", referring to the migratory habits of many northern populations.