Two Peregrine Falcons Exchanging Prey Midair

Two falcons hang against a smooth, pale blue sky, wings spread wide and tails fanned. The upper bird faces the camera with a dark hood and yellow-ringed eye, its talons reaching down. The lower bird turns its head sideways with its beak open, and a small limp prey item is held between the feet of the two birds. Their upperparts are slate grey with fine dark barring, and the tail feathers show clear horizontal bands. The sky has no clouds, so the soft light falls evenly on both birds and the wing patterns stay sharp.

The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is found on almost every continent and is known for fast hunting dives. It mostly takes other birds in flight. Pairs sometimes pass food in the air, and the scene here looks like a handover of this kind, although the picture cannot confirm it. The photo was taken in Roma, Lazio, in February 2022. Peregrines are known to live in cities, where tall buildings serve as nesting ledges. The wide landscape frame and the empty sky leave room for desktop icons, so it suits a widescreen monitor or a laptop.