- Polihierax semitorquatus
Identification
Photo by Mybs
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa December 2004
18–21 cm (7-8¼ in); a tiny raptor
Most often, the side of head is white all around the eye, more rarely with a dark stripe through the eye or with the grey cap reaching lower down. Rump is white, and in flight, the entire underside looks white.
Male has grey upperside while female has chestnut back, and immature is mostly like female.
Distribution
Eastern and southern Africa: breeding in East Africa in northern and western Somalia, eastern Ethiopia, south-east Sudan and northern Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
In southern Africa occurs in south Angola, eastern Namibia, Botswana and north-central South Africa. Resident.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Clements regards this as a monotypic species [1].
The following subspecies are recognised by other authors (e.g. 3, 4):
- P. s. castanotus: south Sudan and Ethiopia to central Tanzania.
- P. s. semitorquatus: south Angola to north west South Africa
Habitat
Photo by Lekrom
Augrabies Falls National Park, South Africa, May 2009
Semi-desert, acacia savanna and open woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
Prey consists primarily of large insects, such as beetles, grasshopper and termites, also small reptiles and rodents.
References
- 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/
- Sinclair et al. 2002. Birds of Southern Africa. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. ISBN 0-691-09682-1
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)#Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Pygmy Falcon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pygmy_Falcon
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
