Malagasy Kestrel
Falco newtoni
Typical kestrel with a rufous back, barred tail, and dark “moustache” mark on the face. Can be rufous or white on the underparts. Found throughout Madagascar in almost all habitats except thick forest. Conspicuous in towns and villages, where it often nests on buildings. Spends much of its time on the wing, often hovering. Call is a high, repeated “keek.” Smaller and slimmer than Banded Kestrel, rufous rather than gray, and without broad bars on the belly.
Identification
It can reach a size of 30 cm. The wings are 180 mm to 195 mm at the males and 188 mm to 203 mm at the females. The males can reach a weight between 112 and 118 grams. The weight of the females is up to 128 grams. The head and the nape of the males is rufous grey with dark streaks. A dark moustachial streak running from the basis of the bill backwards to sides of the throat. The upperparts and the wingcoverts are chestnut with black spots. The uppertail coverts are grey with blackish spots. The long flight feathers are blackish brown, the inner webs are covered with white and chestnut spots. The underparts are whitish. The short flight feathers are chestnut coloured and dark banded. The chest, belly and underwing coverts are covered with black spots. The tail is grey coloured. It has six to seven narrow black bars and a broad subterminal bar. All feathers have white tips. In addition there is a rufous phase. At this morph the head and nape are almost black. Body and underwing coverts are dark chestnut brown with black streaks and spots. The throat exhibits a buffish-white hue. The underwing coverts are greyish white and spotted black. The head of the females is stronger chestnut coloured. The underparts are more spotted and the tail is brown with black bars. Both sexes exhibits a slate grey bill with a black tip. The cere is yellow. The legs are either yellow or bright orange (rufous morph). The juveniles are similar coloured as the females.<p>The Aldabra kestrel looks similar to the Malagasy kestrel but it is slightly smaller. The wings are 170 mm to 183 mm at the males and 177 mm to 186 mm at the females. Some females exhibit entirely white underparts.
Taxonomy
Genus: Falco; Family: Falconidae; Order: Falconiformes.
- Scientific name
- Falco newtoni
- Authority
- (Gurney, JH Sr, 1863)
- Order
- Falconiformes
- Family
- Falconidae
- Genus
- Falco
Range and habitat
The Malagasy kestrel has a large range of occurrence and it is native to Madagascar, Mayotte, and the Comores. It is a breeding resident on Madagascar where it occurs in savannas and wetlands but also artificial landscapes in the vicinity of human settlements in altitudes from 0 to 2000 asl. It is uncommon in forests. The habitat of the Aldabra kestrel is the Aldabran Island of Grande Terre but there is also an evidence for the island of Anjouan at the Comores.<p>The Malagasy kestrel usually nests on rock ledges, in buildings, in tree holes, or in the stick nests of other birds, such as the pied crow. Four to six eggs are laid, usually in September, and are incubated by the female only, who is fed by the male at regular intervals during incubation.<p>Insects take up the majority of the Malagasy kestrel's diet, which are usually taken during flight, but it also occasionally eats small birds, frogs, and mammals, all of which are taken on the ground. It hunts from a low perch, hawking or hovering with the wing, at dawn or dusk.<p>The Malagasy kestrel's call consists of a sharp scream of iitsi, kitsi, kitsi, kitsi or a loud repeated twitter.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chatham Islands Gerygone
Gerygone albofrontata
Small warbler endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. Note dull olive-brown upperparts and white to yellowish plumage below. Distinctive red eye. Males are larger and have a white forehead, eyebrows, chest, and belly. Females have more subtle coloring. Juveniles have brown eyes and a noticeable yellowish tinge to their underparts. Confined to southern forests and scrub. Forages for insects from tree trunks and leaves. Will come to the ground to forage, often in small family flocks. Listen for loud male song, a repeated 4-note phrase “chi-ch-ch-ch.” Some nests are parasitized by larger Shining Bronze-Cuckoo. Distinguishable from Silvereye by lack of distinctive white eye-ring.
Karoo Thrush
Turdus smithi
A typical mostly olive-brown thrush, with rufous coloration restricted to the center of the belly. It is most easily identified by range. Pairs occupy dense scrub and thickets in arid savanna and Karoo, grassland, and urban gardens on the South African highveld. The species gives a varied song and typical thrush “chk-chk” or thin “tseeep” calls. It is an understory specialist that sometimes skulks, but at other times can be quite bold. The similar Olive Thrush differs from Karoo Thrush in its rufous (not olive) flanks, its brown (not yellow-orange) eye-ring, its dark brown (not yellow) base to the upper mandible of the bill, and its streakier throat.
Whooping Motmot
Momotus subrufescens
Large motmot of lowland forest and edges from eastern Panama to northwestern South America. Green above and warm rufous below, with a black mask bordered by a dazzling cerulean crown. The crown is not solidly blue, but instead has a circular black patch in the middle as if it’s wearing a yarmulke. Like most other motmots, has conspicuous tail racquets. In typical motmot fashion, perches quietly for long periods of time anywhere from the understory to the canopy, occasionally flicking its tail side to side. Gives a low single “whoop” call.
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