Alternative names: Madagascar Banded Kestrel, Barred Kestrel or Madagascar Barred Kestrel.
- Falco zoniventris
Identification
27-30 cm
- Grey upperparts
- Underparts - whitish
- Throat and upper breast streaked dark grey
- Lower breast and belly, barred dark grey
- Yellow feet, eyes and cere
- Bare yellow skin around the eye
- Dark tail
Juveniles are browner than the adults with darker eyes and less bare skin around the eye.
Distribution
Humid lowlands and sub-desert of Madagascar.
Taxonomy
Monotypic.
Habitat
Clearings and edges in forest and woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes small reptiles, large insects, grasshoppers and beetles and sometimes birds. Prey is caught on the ground or snatched from a branch or tree trunk.
Breeding
Mainly uses old nests made by other birds, in holes in trees or even epiphytic foliage. Three yellowish eggs are laid.
References
- 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.
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Banded Kestrel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Banded_Kestrel
