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Photo by Max Holdt
Namibia, March 2005

Falco chicquera

[edit] Identification

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia.

In Africa occurs from Senegal and Gambia east to southern Sudan and south-west Ethiopia and south to the Cape but absent from the forests of West and Central Africa and much of Angola.

The Asian range extends from southern Iran and Pakistan to India and Bangladesh.

Common in Asia but uncommon or rare in African range.

Resident

Photo by safariranger
Etosha National Park, Namibia, December 2007

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

Three races are recognised:

• F. c. chicquera:

• Iran to India, Nepal and Bangladesh

• F. c. ruficollis:

• Senegambia to Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia and northern Mozambique

• F. c. horsbrughi:

• Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique to Angola and northern South Africa

[edit] Habitat

In Africa occurs in low-lying, often swampy savanna and appears to be tied to palms, particularly Borassus, for nesting although uses the old nests of crows in southern Africa.

Found in dry open country, grassland and cultivated land with scattered trees in Asian range.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.

• List of references

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages