Colophon
The animal on the cover of Practical Deep Learning for Cloud, Mobile, and Edge is the American peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) or duck hawk, a subspecies of peregrine falcon, which is currently found in the Rocky Mountains. This subspecies has become extinct in eastern North America, but healthy hybrid populations now exist due to organized reintroductions.
Peregrine falcons worldwide, no matter the subspecies, share the characteristics of being a large, fast-flying bird of prey with a dark head and wings; pale, patterned undersides; yellow beak and legs; and large eyes set in a distinctive vertical stripe of eyeblack. Falcons can be discerned at a distance by their “bent” but otherwise sharply outlined wings. Females are noticeably larger than males, but both average about the size of an American crow, and make a distinctive, sharp, “kak kak kak” call when defending territory or nestlings.
Peregrines (named for their far-wandering habits outside nesting season) have established themselves on all continents except Antarctica. Their species success lies with their many adaptations for hunting birds, as well as their ability to adapt to varying nesting environments and prey. The best-known habit of the peregrine falcon is its hunting stoop or high-speed dive, in which it dives from a great height into a bird on or near the ground, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph by the time it crashes into its prey, many times killing it instantly. This makes it not only the fastest bird on earth, but the fastest member of the animal kingdom, and is why the peregrine is a favorite bird of falconers around the world.
Peregrine falcons became a visible symbol of the US environmental movement in the 1960s, as widespread use of the pesticide DDT extirpated the birds across much of their former range before the chemical was banned (the birds consumed DDT through their prey, which had the effect of lethally thinning the shells of the falcon’s eggs). The US Environmental Protection Agency declared this falcon an endangered species in 1970. However, the species has recovered due to the ban on DDT, followed by a captive breeding program that reintroduced the species into their former range in the eastern US. With nest boxes added into the upper reaches of city skyscrapers, populations quickly became established, as the falcons raised their chicks on pigeons and other plentiful urban birds. The peregrine falcon was removed from the Endangered Species list in 1999. While the American peregrine falcon’s current conservation status is now designated as of Least Concern, many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world.
The cover illustration is by Karen Montgomery, based on a black and white engraving from British Birds. The cover fonts are Gilroy Semibold and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.