Skip to main content

Greater Kestrel

Falco rupicoloides
Unsurprisingly, the Greater Kestrel is one of the largest Kestrel Species (though they are still small overall when compared to other birds of prey.) These members of the Falcon family measure jsut over 1ft in length, and have a wingspan of around 2.5ft.

Greater Kestrels have a range that extends across Southern and Eastern Africa. They inhabit open tracts of land, including savanna and semi-desert locations. These birds share their range with other Kestrel species, but can be identified by their larger size, white eyes, pale reddish coloring, and the dark bars that extend down their wings and tail. Males and females have identical plumage.

When it comes to hunting, the Great Kestrels wait on high perches, using their sharp eyes to locate prey in the brush below. They most commonly hunt ground-dwelling animals like lizards, insects, and rodents, but they will also occasionally catch birds in flight.

Speaking of flight, the male Kestrels put one some pretty spectacular aerial shows when it comes time to snag a mate. They dive, roll, and hover in place in hopes to attract a lady. Showing off their silvery under-wings is quite the turn on!

After breeding the eggs (up to 7 of them!) will be laid in an old nest built by another bird species. Why build your own when there are perfectly good nests just sitting around? The female does all of the incubating, and the chicks will stay with their parents for about 2 months.
IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Southern and Eastern Africa
Size : Body Length up to 14.5in (37cm), Wingspan up to 33in (84cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Falconiformes
Family : Falconidae -- Genus : Falco -- Species : F. rupicoloides
Image : Frank Vassen
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more