Dickinson's kestrel (Falco dickinsoni) 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. Its closest relatives are the grey kestrel and banded kestrel and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenusDissodectes.
It is a fairly small, stocky kestrel with a large, square head. It is 27–30 cm (11–12 in) long with a wingspan of 61–68 cm (24–27 in) and a weight of 167–246 g (5.9–8.7 oz). The female is about 4% larger and 10-20% heavier than the male. The plumage is mostly dark grey with a pale head and rump. The tail is grey with narrow black bars and a broad subterminal band. The underside of the flight feathers are also barred. The cere and feet are yellow and there is bare yellow skin around the eye. The bill is dark grey and the eyes are brown. Juvenile birds are grey-brown with barred flanks and without the paler head and rump. They have a greenish cere and eye-ring.
It is usually silent but has a high-pitched alarm and contact call. At the nest, a soft, mewing call attracts the young for feeding.
It usually hunts from a perch and only occasionally hovers. Large insects such as grasshoppers form the bulk of the diet. It also feeds on lizards and amphibians and sometimes birds, bats, rodents and snakes. It is often attracted to grass fires where it preys on fleeing insects and other prey.
The breeding season lasts from July to October in Tanzania and September to December further south. The nest is a simple scrape with no material used. It is sited 2 to 18 m (6.6 to 59.1 ft) above the ground in the crown of a dead palm or in a hole in a baobab. Sometimes the old nest of a Hamerkop is used. One to four eggs are laid. They are cream-coloured with reddish-brown markings and are incubated by the female for at least 30 days. The young birds fledge after approximately 33 to 35 days.
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2016). "Falco dickinsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696410A93560617. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696410A93560617.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Beolens, Bo & Watkins, Michael (2003) Whose Bird?: Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds, Christopher Helm, London.
Channing, Keith (2007) The Hawk Conservancy Trust: Dickinson's Kestrel - Falco dickinsoni. Accessed 01/07/07.
Ferguson-Lees, James & Christie, David A. (2001) Raptors of the World, Christopher Helm, London.
Global Raptor Information Network (2007) Species account: Dickinson's Kestrel Falco dickinsoni. 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 1 Aug. 2007.
Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.
Zimmerman, Dale A.; Turner, Donald A. & Pearson, David J. (1999) Birds of Kenya & Northern Tanzania, Christopher Helm, London.
External linksedit
Wikispecies has information related to Falco dickinsoni.
Dickinson's kestrel - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
January 01, 1970
dickinson, kestrel, falco, dickinsoni, bird, prey, southern, eastern, africa, belonging, falcon, family, falconidae, named, after, john, dickinson, english, physician, missionary, collected, type, specimen, also, known, white, rumped, kestrel, closest, relativ. Dickinson s kestrel Falco dickinsoni 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 Its closest relatives are the grey kestrel and banded kestrel and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenus Dissodectes Dickinson s kestrel in Liwonde Malawi Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Falconiformes Family Falconidae Genus Falco Species F dickinsoni Binomial name Falco dickinsoniSclater PL 1864 Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Behaviour 4 References 5 External linksDescription edit nbsp Iillustration by Joseph Wolf It is a fairly small stocky kestrel with a large square head It is 27 30 cm 11 12 in long with a wingspan of 61 68 cm 24 27 in and a weight of 167 246 g 5 9 8 7 oz The female is about 4 larger and 10 20 heavier than the male The plumage is mostly dark grey with a pale head and rump The tail is grey with narrow black bars and a broad subterminal band The underside of the flight feathers are also barred The cere and feet are yellow and there is bare yellow skin around the eye The bill is dark grey and the eyes are brown Juvenile birds are grey brown with barred flanks and without the paler head and rump They have a greenish cere and eye ring It is usually silent but has a high pitched alarm and contact call At the nest a soft mewing call attracts the young for feeding Distribution and habitat editIt inhabits savanna and open woodland particularly swampy areas near water It favours miombo woodland 2 and is typically associated with palm trees such as Hyphaene and Borassus species and is also often found near baobab trees It occurs in coconut plantations in some areas Its range covers most of Mozambique Zimbabwe Zambia and Malawi along with north eastern South Africa mainly in Kruger National Park northern Botswana north east Namibia eastern Angola southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Tanzania It is an occasional visitor to Kenya The total range is about 3 400 000 km2 1 300 000 sq mi It is generally rather scarce but is commoner in some areas such as Zanzibar and Pemba Islands Loss of palm trees is a potential threat to the species Behaviour editIt usually hunts from a perch and only occasionally hovers Large insects such as grasshoppers form the bulk of the diet It also feeds on lizards and amphibians and sometimes birds bats rodents and snakes It is often attracted to grass fires where it preys on fleeing insects and other prey The breeding season lasts from July to October in Tanzania and September to December further south The nest is a simple scrape with no material used It is sited 2 to 18 m 6 6 to 59 1 ft above the ground in the crown of a dead palm or in a hole in a baobab Sometimes the old nest of a Hamerkop is used One to four eggs are laid They are cream coloured with reddish brown markings and are incubated by the female for at least 30 days The young birds fledge after approximately 33 to 35 days References edit BirdLife International 2016 Falco dickinsoni IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22696410A93560617 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22696410A93560617 en Retrieved 13 November 2021 Falco dickinsoni Beolens Bo amp Watkins Michael 2003 Whose Bird Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds Christopher Helm London Channing Keith 2007 The Hawk Conservancy Trust Dickinson s Kestrel Falco dickinsoni Accessed 01 07 07 Ferguson Lees James amp Christie David A 2001 Raptors of the World Christopher Helm London Global Raptor Information Network 2007 Species account Dickinson s Kestrel Falco dickinsoni Archived 2011 07 06 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded from http www globalraptors org on 1 Aug 2007 Sinclair Ian amp Ryan Peter 2003 Birds of Africa south of the Sahara Struik Cape Town Zimmerman Dale A Turner Donald A amp Pearson David J 1999 Birds of Kenya amp Northern Tanzania Christopher Helm London External links edit nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Falco dickinsoni Dickinson s kestrel Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Dickinson s kestrel Falco dickinsoni pictures Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dickinson 27s kestrel amp oldid 1201329369, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
