Brown Falcon
Falco berigora
Large-headed falcon with variable brownish plumage ranging from dark chocolate brown, to reddish, to tan. All have a dark moustache mark, long unfeathered lower legs, and a finely barred tail. Take care to identify dark birds from Black Falcon, which has feathered legs, and a more angular heavy-shouldered appearance. When gliding holds its wingtips up. Common resident in rural areas, often perches on power lines, fence posts. Populations tend to move when food and water is scarce.
Identification
Adults are usually 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) long. They are found in light and dark forms and a variety of intermediates. Animals typically have red-brown heads with narrow black streaks with a light crown and off-white chin. Wings are a spotted red-brown with dark brown quills. Beaks are light blue/grey; eyes are brown. The falcons make a loud cackle call uttered frequently.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Falco berigora
- Authority
- Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- Order
- Falconiformes
- Family
- Falconidae
- Genus
- Falco
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Brown falcons and other Australian firehawks have been said to pick up sticks with flames and dropping them to spread fires and prey on escaping animals. According to Audubon, "That anecdotal evidence is sourced from personal testimonies by Australian firefighters and aboriginal people, as well as historical literature, and amounts to 14 firsthand narratives of this specific occurrence."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher
Bias musicus
Unusual, chunky, short-tailed, crested, yellow-eyed member of the vanga family. Males are strikingly black-and-white, with a small white patch at the front of the wing. Females have a chestnut back, blackish head, and pale underparts. The wings are short and rounded, and the flight is weak. Found in the canopy of humid forest, at low and middle elevations, often along forest edge and clearings. The variable song consists of slurred whistles. Calls include rasps and clearer bulbul-like notes.
Speckled Hummingbird
Adelomyia melanogenys
Small brownish hummingbird with distinctive black cheek and pale buffy eyebrow. Throat variably speckled; some populations are cleaner than others. Green back; dark tail with buffy corners. Face pattern could recall a hermit, but combination of small size, straight dark bill, and squared tail should alleviate any confusion. Widespread and fairly common in the Andes, where it forages low within forest or at the forest edge. Found from 1,000–3,000m. Visits feeders.
Brown Wood-Owl
Strix leptogrammica
Large, solemn-looking brown owl with deep black eyes. Varies in plumage throughout its extensive range but always has a dark-bordered pale face, fine barring on wings and underparts, and sooty areas around the eyes. Inhabits lowland and montane broadleaf forests and adjacent edges. Gives a short burst of loud, reverberating hoots.
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