Greater Kestrel - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Gashead
Etosha National Park, Namibia, August 2004

Falco rupicoloides

Identification

29–37 cm

• Rufous plumage

Distribution

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

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

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

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. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Greater Kestrel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Greater_Kestrel

External Links

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