Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus)

Other Names (World)
Grey Kestrel, Gray Kestrel

Family
Falconidae (Falcons, Caracaras)

Size
28 - 33 cm

First Described (Guide)
Vieillot, 1823

Habitat
Open woodland, forest clearings and savanna, especially near water.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia.

Vagrant to Malawi.

Senegambia east to Ethiopia and south through western Kenya and western Tanzania to Angola, northern Zambia, northern Namibia and north-western Botswana.

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Crepuscular.

Food
Insects, reptiles, small mammals and birds, amphibians and worms.

Voice
Usually silent outside breeding season. Rattling whistles and a shrill, chattering.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (1)...)

Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus) [XC77945]
by James and David Bradley from Gonse Forest, Burkina Faso (call)

Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus) [XC101174]
by Bram Piot from Kerio Valley, Kenya (begging)

Nest
A nest of another species or in a hole of a tree.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 5; white with reddish or brown markings. Incubation: 26 - 31 days.

Young
Fledge in about 30 days.

Subspecies
Sometimes united in subgenus Dissodectes with other grey kestrels Dickinson's Kestrel (Falco dickinsoni) and Banded Kestrel (Falco zoniventris).

No subspecies.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Grey Kestrel see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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