Fox Kestrel
Encyclopedia
The Fox Kestrel is a bird of prey
belonging to the falcon
family Falconidae
. It is found in arid, open country in Africa
.
with long, narrow wings and tail. It is 32–38 cm long with a wingspan of 76–88 cm and a weight of 250-300 grams. The female is 3% larger than the male. The plumage
is dark rufous above and below with black streaks. The tail is narrowly barred with black while the flight feather
s of the wing are dark and unbarred. The underwings are pale, contrasting with the darker body. The eye is yellow-brown unlike the similar Greater Kestrel
which has whitish eyes as well as paler plumage, barred flight feathers and grey on the tail.
Juvenile
Fox Kestrels have heavier streaking than the adults and clearer barring on the tail.
The species has a high, screeching call but is usually silent outside the breeding season.
region south of the Sahara
from Mali
eastwards as far as Ethiopia
and north-west Kenya
. It occasionally wanders west to Senegal
, the Gambia and Guinea
and south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. Most birds are sedentary but there is some movement northward during the wet season
and southward in the dry season
. It is often found around cliffs and rocky hills. It occurs from near sea-level to 2200 metres, especially below 1000 metres. It has a large range of about 4 million km² but is usually uncommon. Its total population is probably less than 100,000 pairs.
s, lizard
s and small mammal
s. It generally catches food on the ground but also hunts for flying insects escaping from grass fires.
Little is known about its breeding habits. The nest
site is a hole or crevice in a cliff or on a ledge. No nesting material is used. The clutch is thought to consist of two or three eggs
. The birds sometimes breed in loose colonies of up to 20 pairs.
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 found in arid, open country in 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...
.
Description
It is a large, slender kestrelKestrel
The name kestrel, is given to several different members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects...
with long, narrow wings and tail. It is 32–38 cm long with a wingspan of 76–88 cm and a weight of 250-300 grams. The female is 3% larger than the male. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is dark rufous above and below with black streaks. The tail is narrowly barred with black while the flight feather
Flight feather
Flight feathers are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges while those on the tail are called rectrices . Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby...
s of the wing are dark and unbarred. The underwings are pale, contrasting with the darker body. The eye is yellow-brown unlike the similar Greater Kestrel
Greater Kestrel
The Greater Kestrel or White-eyed Kestrel is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is one of the largest kestrels and is found in open country in southern and eastern Africa.-Description:...
which has whitish eyes as well as paler plumage, barred flight feathers and grey on the tail.
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...
Fox Kestrels have heavier streaking than the adults and clearer barring on the tail.
The species has a high, screeching call but is usually silent outside the breeding season.
Habitat and range
It breeds in the savannaSavanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
region south of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
from Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
eastwards as far as Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and north-west Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. It occasionally wanders west to Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, the Gambia and Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Most birds are sedentary but there is some movement northward during the wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
and southward in the dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
. It is often found around cliffs and rocky hills. It occurs from near sea-level to 2200 metres, especially below 1000 metres. It has a large range of about 4 million km² but is usually uncommon. Its total population is probably less than 100,000 pairs.
Behaviour
It rarely hovers, preferring to hunt from a perch in a tree or on a rock. It feeds on insectInsect
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, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s and small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. It generally catches food on the ground but also hunts for flying insects escaping from grass fires.
Little is known about its breeding habits. The nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
site is a hole or crevice in a cliff or on a ledge. No nesting material is used. The clutch is thought to consist of two or three 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...
. The birds sometimes breed in loose colonies of up to 20 pairs.