• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Grey Kestrel - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Steve G
The Gambia, March 2005
Falco ardosiaceus

Identification

28–33 cm

  • Slate-grey plumage
  • Large, yellow orbital ring
  • Yellow cere and legs

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa. Senegal east to Ethiopia and south to northern Zambia and southern Angola.

Taxonomy

Photo by martinuk
Murchison Falls National Park, Masindi District, Uganda, July 2013

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Open woodland and wooded savanna, cultivated areas close to water

Behaviour

Flight

Rarely hovers but rather has a fast dashing flight behaving more like a typical falcon

Diet

They tend to feed on small birds, rather than small mammals, or large insects such as grasshoppers and reptiles like lizards, snakes and chameleons.

Movements

A resident species.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

Back
Top