- Falco berigora
Identification
41-50cm
- Dark brown upperparts
- Cream underparts
- Brown sides to head
- Tear-stripe below the eye
- Barred tails
There are several colour morphs, ranging from very dark brown to light brown upperparts and off-white underparts.
Distribution
Australasia: occurs over most of the continent although scarcer on the east coast. Also found on Tasmania and in southern and eastern New Guinea.
Resident or nomadic.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- F. b. novaeguineae:
- Eastern and central New Guinea and coastal northern Australia
- F. b. berigora:
- F. b. occidentalis:
- South-Western and west-central Australia
Two additional subspecies centralia in the dry interior of Australia is generally considered invalid and tasmanica on Tasmania is not recognised my most authorities[2].
Habitat
Open woodland and forest edge, plains, grasslands and farmland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes small mammals, insects, and reptiles.
Breeding
The nest is made from sticks. The 2-6 eggs are incubated by both sexes for 30 days. The young fledge after a further 40-45 days.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Birds in Backyards
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown Falcon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Falcon
External Links
