Rock Kestrel
A species of True Falcons Scientific name : Falco rupicolus Genus : True Falcons
Rock Kestrel, A species of True Falcons
Botanical name: Falco rupicolus
Genus: True Falcons
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Description
A slender, medium-sized kestrel, between 30 and 33 centimeters tall. Adult male kestrels weigh between 183g and 254g, while females weigh between 190g and 280g.
Size
33 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Yellow
Life Expectancy
16-24 years
Feeding Habits
Rock Kestrel primarily consume invertebrates, small rodents, reptiles, and birds, displaying two hunting techniques: hover hunting and perch hunting. Unique adaptations include catching prey flushed by baboons and feeding on termites on the ground.
Habitat
Rock Kestrel typically inhabits a wide range of open or moderately wooded terrains. These birds are found in areas with herbaceous vegetation or low shrubs, including grasslands, steppes, semi-deserts, and moorlands. They are adaptable to various landscapes, from agricultural regions and wetlands with sparse vegetation to urban environments such as villages, towns, and city outskirts. Rock Kestrel can also thrive in mountainous areas, living at elevations of up to 3300 meters and sometimes being observed up to 5500 meters. This species requires perching and roosting sites such as trees, telegraph poles, buildings, and rock faces, and it is distributed across broad regions that include arid and semi-arid zones.
Dite type
Carnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Distribution Area
The species occurs from Angola, south through the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Tanzania, further south to South Africa, and in most of the places between. Noticeable places of scarcity include north and north east Namibia, Botswana, south Mozambique and tropical Lowveld, while in Zimbabwe it is restricted to high-lying central and eastern regions. The kestrel is usually associated with arid areas, but may also be found in open and/or semi-arid areas.
Species Status
The rock kestrel is common in many protected areas, and as a result is not threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Diurnal Birds of Prey Family
Falcons and caracaras Genus
True Falcons Species
Rock Kestrel