Shaheen falcons spotted in Kochi

A pair of Shaheen falcons have been found nesting in a multi-storiey esidential complex under construction in Kochi. Usually found in rocky, or hilly regions in India, these falcons are rare in Kerala. Jayadev Menon, a skilled birdwatcher, spotted the birds while on a routine birding excursion to Marine Drive. Fascinated by the sighting, he has been observing the birds for over two months. “They have become my forsters almost. Of course, from a distance,” he says.

For someone who has been a birdwatcher for 40 years, observing falcons continuosly is a first. “Till the second week of February both birds were visible, but quite abruptly the female stopped appearing in the open. It seemed that the female had laid eggs,” says Jayadev.

Shaheen falcons, subspecies of the Peregrine falcon, are captivating birds, he adds. The male may help incubate the eggs while the female is feeding, but that task is mostly done by the female. When the female is in need of food, she sends a signal or comes out of the nest to stretch her wings and the male gets into action — he brings her a bird or a bat.

The male, when guarding the nest, stays at a point slightly away, from where he can watch the nest and scan the surroundings for any intruder. “The Shaheen at Kochi launched an attack on an unsuspecting Brahminy kite that came too close to the nest building. He delivered a peck or a strike with the claws and sent the kite plummeting,” says Jayadev.

The birds could have chosen the Marine Drive area to nest because of its proximity to Mangalavanam. “In the evenings, there is a large number of bats coming out to hunt for food and they are a buffet for the falcons. In the morning, pigeons, mynahs, bulbuls and other smaller birds become their prey. So there is an abundance of food,” says Jayadev.

The Shaheen falcon chasing a Brahminy kite
| Photo Credit:
sunny Joseph

The bird has a muscular body — with the female being larger than the male. The powerful talons are yellow in colour. While the upper part of the body is greyish-black, the lower part is comparatively pale. The face is characterised by a dark vertical stripe from the eye to the side of the face, which often gives the bird a severe appearance. 

The male Shaheen falcon with prey in its talons
| Photo Credit:
Sunny Joseph

Shaheens are found across the Indian subcontinent and build very rudimentary nests, often just a hollow on a rocky surface or they put together pebbles, stones and a few twigs. It is interesting to see how these cliff-dwelling birds have adapted to the urban landscape, observes Jayadev. “The birds that traditionally roost in rocky ledges, are now using abandoned buildings. Here in Kochi, the unfinished building is a lucky find for them. Peregrines are masters of the stoop (their hunting dives that can even exceed 300 kilometres per hour). Their bodies are shaped to generate high speeds and turn into a weapon when they go into hunt mode. They come in at such high speed that the prey bird or rodent that they hunt is dead before they know what hit them. These buildings offer high altitude perches from where they can survey the surrounding landscape and launch a hunt,” he says.

Loss of habitat

According to conservationists, the presence of these falcons in urban landscapes can be seen as an indicator of environmental degradation — constantly expanding cities and infrastructure development have caused loss of traditional nesting sites.

The female Shaheen falcon in Kochi
| Photo Credit:
Sunny Joseph

Pollution and decline in prey could be other reasons driving them into cities.

“We need to protect these beautiful birds. We have taken away their habitats in order to build our cities and highways — let us give them a little space to live their life,” says Jayadev, who is a business coach and trainer by profession, who has been an active birder for the past 40 years. “In the last 10 years, I have seen 503 of the over 1,250 species of birds in India,” he says.

He has been taking part in the mid-winter waterbird survey of Birdlife International since its inception in 1987. He has also been part of several bird surveys by Kerala and Tamil Nadu Forest Departments.

“If, by chance, you see a falcon streak across the sky like greased lightning, stop doing everything, pause to celebrate its wild beauty and be happy that we have given another creature the opportunity to coexist with us,” says Jayadev. 

Published – March 20, 2026 01:18 pm IST