Peregrine falcons make comeback in Chicago Move from cliffs to building ledges, go off danger list

A growing number of peregrine falcons are finding homes amid thesmokestacks, skyscrapers and subdivisions that occupy the birds'traditional habitat in northern Illinois.

The graceful, fast-flying raptor -- Chicago's official bird -- hasincreased its numbers enough since the early 1990s that stateofficials have removed the falcon from the state's list of endangeredspecies. Instead, the peregrine falcon has been reclassified as"threatened," a less ominous ranking that indicates the bird'snumbers are rising in the state, officials say.

"The population is definitely on the road to recovery," said JamesHerkert, a member of the Illinois Endangered Species ProtectionBoard, …