White-rumped Falcon
Neohierax insignis
Beautiful small falcon with dark wings and clean white underparts. Male has a pale gray head, whereas females are bright rusty orange from the crown down to the back. Appears rather large-headed and front-heavy, particularly in flight; long-tailed appearance sometimes gives it a profile like a miniature Accipiter. Occurs in open dry forests and forest edge areas in the lowlands and foothills, often in pairs.
Identification
The plumage is white underneath and on the rump, with black ticking on the chest. The upper surface of the wings is dark grey. Sexually dimorphic, the female has a rufous mantle on her upper back and behind the head, whereas in the male these areas are grey. The tail is black, barred with white.<p>The shape of the tail is notably rounded, with the outermost feathers an inch shorter than the middle ones. Its wings have the pointed shape typical of falcons, with the second primary feathers longest, and the first nearly equal to the third.<p>Its legs and feet are yellow, hence the French name fauconnet à pattes jaunes (yellow-legged falconet). Base of the bill and skin surrounding the eye are yellow. Tip of the beak is grey or horn-coloured.<p>The wings are .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}145 mm (5+3⁄4 in) long, and the tail is 130 mm (5 in). Modern sources give the overall length as 23–28 cm (9–11 in), weight 84–112 g (3–4 oz), and wingspan 42–49 centimetres (16+1⁄2–19+1⁄4 in).<p>Its coloration is similar to the African pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus), but the white-rumped falcon is larger and proportionally longer-tailed.
Taxonomy
Philip Sclater, secretary of the Zoological Society of London, presented two skins at the meeting of 7 November 1871, on behalf of the society's president Arthur Hay, Viscount Walden. A brief account of this presentation was published in 1872, becoming the first formal description of the species.<p>In 1922, Harry Kirke Swann proposed a new monotypic genus for this bird, Neohierax. During the 20th century, most taxonomic authorities retained it in Polyhierax, though Brown and Amadon supported separating the two genera. Phylogenetic analyses of morphological characteristics found the white-rumped falcon to be basal to the Falco clade, but separate from the clade containing the pygmy falcon (or African pigmy falcon, Polihierax semitorquatus) and Microhierax (falconets or pigmy falcons).<p>Research in molecular genetics has also found that the white-rumped falcon is more closely related to the Falco falcons than it is to the pygmy falcon, and indicates two major clades within the extant members of the falcon subfamily, Falconinae. Boyd places the Microhierax falconets with the pygmy falcon in tribe Polihieracini, and the white-rumped falcon as Neohierax insignis in tribe Falconini.<p>The white-rumped falcon is also known as white-rumped pygmy falcon, white-rumped falconet, Fielden's falconet, or Burmese pigmy falcon.
- Scientific name
- Neohierax insignis
- Authority
- (Walden, 1872)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Neohierax
Range and habitat
Found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savanna. The IUCN considers it "near-threatened" by habitat loss due to logging and forest fires, and possibly hunting.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
White-rumped falcons feed on lizards and insects, which are taken from the ground or in trees. Unlike Microhierax falconets, they do not hawk insects from the air.<p>This species has been little studied in the wild. It uses holes in trees for nesting, the female incubates the eggs during the day. The female lays a clutch of two white eggs, approximately 35 mm (1.4 in) long.<p>A pair have been observed to nest in a woodpecker hole, both the male and female roosting there overnight.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
African Dusky Flycatcher
Muscicapa adusta
A small, dumpy, buff-brownish flycatcher with a pale throat, a short eyebrow in front of the eye, a mostly plain crown, and indistinct mottling on the breast. It prefers thicker woodland and the edges of evergreen and riverine forest, perching at lower and middle levels and sallying to catch insects, or occasionally sitting on the ground. High-pitched “tzeet” and “tsirit” calls often betray its presence. The similar migrant Spotted Flycatcher has a longer tail and wings than the African Dusky Flycatcher, and it also has distinct streaking on the crown. The Gambaga Flycatcher is paler and mostly restricted to arid woodland.
Checker-throated Woodpecker
Chrysophlegma mentale
Ornate medium-sized woodpecker. Moss-green with blood-red wings and neck. Back edge of head and neck are brightened by a sunny yellow crest. Black-and-white “checker” throat is not particularly obvious. Prefers mature lowland and hill forests; seldom seen in secondary growth or sparsely-vegetated edge. Typically forages at mid-levels of forest, frequently singly but also in mixed flocks or pairs. Gives loud, insistent “nyeh” notes and a strident “choo-yik!”
Imperial Amazon
Amazona imperialis
A rather large, dark, and stout resident of wet upland forest. Note iridescent purple underparts, vivid green upperparts, and hefty black bill. The Red-necked Parrot, the only other native species within its range, can be readily separated from the Imperial Parrot by its largely green plumage and the red (not purple) patch on its throat. Most common call is a yelping "weep", also gives a loud, scratchy “eee-er.”
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