![]() ![]() Mixed-species feeding flocks in open cerrado and grassland will go on frenzied alert upon spotting this species small birds fear it more than most other predators. It feeds on large invertebrates and small vertebrates, with small birds making up the overwhelming bulk of its prey. Globally, however, it is so widespread that it is assessed as Species of Least Concern by the IUCN. It ranges from northern Mexico and Trinidad locally to southern South America, but has been extirpated from many places in its range, including all of northern and central Mexico except for a small area of Chihuahua. The aplomado falcon's habitat is dry grasslands, savannahs, marshes, and, in Brazil, is commonly observed in some large cities, such as São Paulo. All that can be said with some certainty is that they diverged as part of an apparently largely western Holarctic radiation in the Late Miocene, probably around 8 to 5 million years ago. sparverius), seem to be closer to the Aplomado group than most other falcons, but the relationships of all these lineages are fairly enigmatic. ![]() columbarius) and the American kestrel ( F. Two other Falco species of the Americas, the merlin ( F. These two species are generally considered to belong to the same lineage as the aplomado falcon. deiroleucus), which have similar black-white-rust patterns below, but those species are built more like peregrine falcons and have solidly blackish heads and darker rufous bellies. rufigularis) and the orange-breasted falcon ( F. This species may be confused with the bat falcon ( F. ![]() Juvenile birds are very similar to adults, but their upperparts and belly band are blackish brown, the chest is streaked with black, the white on the head and breast is buffy, and the cinnamon on the underparts is paler, as are the feet. Įxcept that females are bigger than males, the sexes are similar. The cere, eye-ring, and feet are yellow or yellow-orange. The tail is black with narrow white or grey bars and a white tip. The upper breast continues the white of the throat there are black patches on each side of the lower breast that meet in the middle the belly and thighs, below the black patches, are light cinnamon. In adult birds, the upperparts are dark blue-grey, as is much of the head, with the usual falcon "moustache" contrasting sharply with the white throat and eyestripe. peregrinus), at 12–16 in (30–40 cm) long and with an average wingspan of about 36 in (90 cm), but only half the weight, at about 7.3–10.8 oz (208–305 g) in males and 9.6–16 oz (271–460 g) in females. The aplomado falcon is very slender, long-winged, and long-tailed, the size of a small peregrine falcon ( F. Spanish names for the species include halcón aplomado and halcón fajado (roughly "banded falcon" in reference to the characteristic pattern) in Brazil it is known as falcão-de-coleira (roughly "collared falcon" in reference to the white throat).ĭescription Illustration from Pacific Railroad Surveys Narita Foad - Trinidad Aplomado is an unusual Spanish word for " lead-colored", referring to the blue-grey areas of the plumage – an approximate English translation would be "plumbeous falcon". Its resemblance in shape to the hobbies accounts for its old name orange-chested hobby. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer to the bat falcon ( F. The species' largest continuous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. The aplomado falcon ( Falco femoralis) is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. ![]()
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