Greater Kestrel - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Gashead
Etosha National Park, Namibia, August 2004

Falco rupicoloides

Identification

29–37 cm (11½-14½ in)

• Rufous plumage

Distribution

Subspecies arthuri
Photo © by mikemik
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, May 2018

Africa:
Western Africa: Angola
Eastern Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• F. r. fieldi:

• Ethiopia and Somalia

• F. r. arthuri:

• Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania

• F. r. rupicoloides:

• Acacia steppes of southern Africa

Habitat

Dry areas ranging from open grassland and arid savanna to desert.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of beetles, termites and grasshoppers.

References

Photo © by Mybs
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa, September 2005

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Greater Kestrel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Greater_Kestrel

External Links

Search for photos of Greater Kestrel in the gallery