Nankeen Kestrel
Falco cenchroides
Small and delicate raptor with warm-brown upper parts, pale underparts, and a dark tail band. Adult male has gray head; female more rust-colored. Often hovers in one spot searching for a variety of prey including insects and rodents. Common in farm-dominated areas and grasslands.
Identification
The nankeen kestrel is a small, slim falcon 28 to 35 cm (11 to 14 in) long with a wingspan of 66 to 78 cm (26 to 31 in). The male weighs 121 to 195 g (4.3 to 6.9 oz) while the female weighs 115 to 273 g (4.1 to 9.6 oz). It has pale rufous upper-parts with contrasting black flight-feathers and is finely streaked white below, with a black subterminal band. The cere, eye-ring, and legs are yellow. The male has a pale grey crown and tail with a darker grey tear-mark, while the female and juvenile have a pale rufous crown and finely barred rufous tail. Plumage varies considerably in detail, and some birds can look very scruffy, but the slim build, small size and distinctive straight-winged hovering habit make identification easy. The only other Australasian raptors to hover are the elanid kites, which are much lighter in colour and a little larger, and the brown falcon, which is much larger and more heavily built, and hovers only occasionally. Altogether, the nankeen kestrel looks just like a pale, less patterned, and smaller derivate of the Eurasian kestrel, which it indeed is (see Gloger's Rule, Bergmann's Rule).
Taxonomy
The nankeen kestrel is a species of the genus Falco, allied to a subgenus Tinnunculus. They were first described by Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. Further descriptions — regarded as synonyms for the species — were published: Cerchneis immaculata Brehm, 1845; the later name Cerchneis unicolor by Alexander Milligan was published in Emu in 1904; and that author's name appearing in the assignment to a subspecies, Cerchneis cenchroides milligani, published by Gregory Mathews in 1912.<p>The generic name is Late Latin falco 'falcon' (from falx falcis, 'sickle') and the specific epithet is derived from Ancient Greek kenkhris 'kestrel' and -oides 'resembling'. <p>The common names Mosquito Hawk, Kestrel, Windhover, Hoverer are cited in the Australian Faunal Directory. Its common descriptor refers to the colour of nankeen cloth, originally a yellowish cotton from Nankeen or Nanking (modern Nanjing), China. <p>This bird is thought to be a very close relative of the Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), and probably also the spotted kestrel (Falco moluccensis). It seems to have evolved from ancestral common kestrels dispersing to the Australian region in the Middle Pleistocene — less than 1 million years ago — and adapting to local conditions.<p>Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate subspecies Falco cenchroides cenchroides is found throughout Australia and Tasmania, as well as Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, and as a non-breeding visitor to southern New Guinea; and F. c. baru Rand, 1940 is found in the Snow Mountains of west central New Guinea.
- Scientific name
- Falco cenchroides
- Authority
- Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- Order
- Falconiformes
- Family
- Falconidae
- Genus
- Falco
Range and habitat
A very common and easily seen raptor, the nankeen kestrel is found in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, and is an irregular visitor to New Zealand. It occupies any type of land that is not too densely vegetated, but in particular temperate grasslands and open woodlands. In the tropical north and the sandy deserts of the west, it has a patchy and seasonal distribution. It can be seen in Western Australia on coastal cliffs and windy conditions. Also seen on phone lines and power lines. <p>Like many Australian birds, it has no clear migratory pattern: in the grasslands of the south, established pairs are resident year-round, but many other birds migrate north during the austral winter, or roam the arid interior following food supplies. Typically seen singly or in pairs, they can aggregate into loose flocks of up to 30 when conditions are right. Pairs are typically monogamous and may or may not disperse to different areas during the non-breeding season. The nest is any convenient structure: a tree hollow, cliff ledge or disused corvid's nest, for example, and is not modified or added to by the kestrels.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small flycatcher with gray cap, black ear patch, and buffy wingbars. Head pattern looks messy. Olive back and pale yellow belly. Most similar to Sepia-capped Flycatcher, but that species has a brown cap (not gray). Also very similar to bristle-tyrants of South America but note buffy wingbars and voice—a commonly heard, explosive “pseek!” sometimes with a sputtering trill at the end. Look for singles or pairs in forests and edges, usually not too high in the trees. Often follows mixed-species flocks.
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