Banded Kestrel
Encyclopedia
The Banded Kestrel is a bird of prey
belonging to the falcon
family Falconidae
. It is endemic to Madagascar
and is also known as the Madagascar Banded Kestrel, Barred Kestrel or Madagascar Barred Kestrel. Its closest relatives are the Grey Kestrel
and Dickinson's Kestrel
of mainland Africa
and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenus
Dissodectes.
It is 27–30 cm long with a wingspan of 60–68 cm. The upperparts are grey and the tail is dark. The underparts are whitish with dark grey streaks on the throat and upper breast and dark grey barring on the lower breast and belly. The feet, eyes and cere
are yellow and there is bare yellow skin around the eye. Juvenile
birds are browner than the adults with darker eyes and less bare skin around the eye.
The species has a shrill, staccato, chattering call and a sharp, screaming call but is usually silent outside the breeding season.
It is fairly common in the southern and western parts of Madagascar but more local in the north and east and absent from the central plateau. It occurs from sea-level up to 2000 metres. It inhabits clearings and edges in forest and woodland.
It rarely hovers, preferring to hunt from a perch. It feeds on small reptile
s such as chamaeleon
s and day geckos
, large insect
s such as grasshopper
s and beetle
s and occasionally on birds. Prey is caught on the ground or snatched from a branch or tree trunk.
Breeding takes place from September to December. The nest
is a simple scrape, usually in the old nest of another bird, especially the Sickle-billed Vanga
. The nest is located in a tree hole or amongst epiphytic
growth. Three yellowish eggs
are laid.
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
belonging to the falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
family Falconidae
Falconidae
The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...
. It is endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and is also known as the Madagascar Banded Kestrel, Barred Kestrel or Madagascar Barred Kestrel. Its closest relatives are the Grey Kestrel
Grey Kestrel
The Grey Kestrel is an African bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. Its closest relatives are the Banded Kestrel and Dickinson's Kestrel and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenus Dissodectes....
and Dickinson's Kestrel
Dickinson's Kestrel
Dickinson's Kestrel is a bird of prey of southern and eastern Africa belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is named after John Dickinson, an English physician and missionary who collected the type specimen. It is also known as the White-rumped Kestrel...
of mainland Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenus
Subgenus
In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...
Dissodectes.
It is 27–30 cm long with a wingspan of 60–68 cm. The upperparts are grey and the tail is dark. The underparts are whitish with dark grey streaks on the throat and upper breast and dark grey barring on the lower breast and belly. The feet, eyes and cere
Cère
The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...
are yellow and there is bare yellow skin around the eye. Juvenile
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
birds are browner than the adults with darker eyes and less bare skin around the eye.
The species has a shrill, staccato, chattering call and a sharp, screaming call but is usually silent outside the breeding season.
It is fairly common in the southern and western parts of Madagascar but more local in the north and east and absent from the central plateau. It occurs from sea-level up to 2000 metres. It inhabits clearings and edges in forest and woodland.
It rarely hovers, preferring to hunt from a perch. It feeds on small reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s such as chamaeleon
Chamaeleon
Chamaeleon is a small constellation in the southern sky. It is named after the chameleon, a form of lizard. It was first defined in the sixteenth century.-History:...
s and day geckos
Phelsuma
The genus Phelsuma consists of several lizards in the gecko family, commonly referred to as Day Geckos.-Description:In contrast to most other gecko species, day geckos are active mainly during the day. Other diurnal geckos are members of the genus Lygodactylus and the genus Gonatodes...
, large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s such as grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s and beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and occasionally on birds. Prey is caught on the ground or snatched from a branch or tree trunk.
Breeding takes place from September to December. The nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
is a simple scrape, usually in the old nest of another bird, especially the Sickle-billed Vanga
Sickle-billed Vanga
The Sickle-billed Vanga is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus Falculea. It is endemic to Madagascar...
. The nest is located in a tree hole or amongst epiphytic
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
growth. Three yellowish eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are laid.