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Aplomado falcon

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Aplomado falcon
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Falco
Species:
F. femoralis
Binomial name
Falco femoralis
Synonyms

See text

Theaplomado falcon(Falco femoralis) is a medium-sizedfalconofthe Americas.The species' largest continuous range is inSouth America,but not in the deep interiorAmazon Basin.It was long known asFalco fusco-coerulescensorFalco fuscocaerulescens,but these names are now believed to refer to thebat falcon(F. rufigularis).[2]Its resemblance in shape to thehobbiesaccounts for its old nameorange-chested hobby.Aplomadois an unusualSpanishword for "lead-colored ", referring to the blue-grey areas of the plumage – an approximate English translation would be" plumbeous falcon ". Spanish names for the species includehalcón aplomadoandhalcón fajado(roughly "banded falcon" in reference to the characteristic pattern); in Brazil it is known asfalcão-de-coleira(roughly "collared falcon" in reference to the white throat).

Description

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Illustration fromPacific Railroad Surveys
Narita Road - Trinidad

The aplomado falcon is very slender, long-winged, and long-tailed, the size of a smallperegrine falcon(F. 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.[3]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. 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. The tail is black with narrow white or grey bars and a white tip. Thecere,eye-ring, and feet are yellow or yellow-orange.[4]

Except that females are bigger than males, the sexes are similar. 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.[4]

This species may be confused with thebat falcon(F. rufigularis) and theorange-breasted falcon(F. 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.[4]These two species are generally considered to belong to the same lineage as the aplomado falcon. Two otherFalcospecies of the Americas, themerlin(F. columbarius) and theAmerican kestrel(F. sparverius), seem to be closer to the Aplomado group than most other falcons, but the relationships of all these lineages are fairly enigmatic. All that can be said with some certainty is that they diverged as part of an apparently largely westernHolarcticradiation in theLate Miocene,probably around8 to 5million years ago.[5][6][7][8][9]

Range, ecology and status

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The aplomado falcon's habitat is drygrasslands,savannahs,marshes,and, in Brazil, is commonly observed in some large cities, such asSão Paulo.[citation needed]It ranges from northernMexicoandTrinidadlocally to southernSouth America,but has beenextirpatedfrom many places in its range, including all of northern and central Mexico except for a small area ofChihuahua.Globally, however, it is so widespread that it is assessed as Species ofLeast Concernby theIUCN.[1]

It feeds on largeinvertebratesand smallvertebrates,with small birds making up the overwhelming bulk of its prey.Mixed-species feeding flocksin opencerradoand grassland will go on frenzied alert upon spotting this species; small birds fear it more than most other predators.[10]It is often seen soaring at twilight huntinginsectsand eating them on the wing.[4]It also hunts at fields being burned, at which many birds of this species may gather; cooperation between individual aplomado falcons – usually members of a pair – has also been recorded. InBrazil,aplomado falcons have been observed followingmaned wolves(Chrysocyon brachyurus) and chasing birds that the wolves flush.[11]Prey items typically weigh one-fifth to one-half of the falcons' own weight, but females of this species (which due to their size can tackle larger prey) have been recorded eating birds larger than themselves, such as acattle egret(Bulbucus ibis) or aplain chachalaca(Ortalis vetula), on rare occasions.[3]

Aplomado falcon at the THA Meet '09

The nest is a platform built of sticks at any height in a bush or tree. Two or three eggs are laid.[4]

Until the 1950s it was found in the extreme southwesternUnited States,and reintroduction efforts are under way in West and SouthTexas.It began to reoccupy its former range in West Texas and southernNew Mexicoin the 1990s.[12]Documentary evidence for these naturally occurring birds was obtained in New Mexico in 1991, and sightings built steadily through that decade and the next, leading to successfulfledgingof three young in 2002.[13]Sightings and nesting activity continue to the present. The addition of nesting platforms to areas where Northern Aplomado FalconsFalco femoralis septentrionaliswere reintroduced in South Texas improved the birds' productivity. This resulted in a stable population, however without the addition of nest platforms the re-introduced population would likely decline to extinction.[14]

The expansion of the reintroduction program to that area has met with criticism,[15]because technically, all aplomado falcons in New Mexico are classified as part of the "experimental" (reintroduction) population.[16]As such, while they are still legally protected from hunting, they are not protected byEndangered Species Actrequirements to preserve habitat and the like. It is believed that mainlyhabitat destructioncaused the species' (near-)disappearance from the US and hinders reestablishment of a wild breeding population. A coalition of environmental groups is attempting to have full protection restored so as not to jeopardize the success of the expanding wild population and the reintroduction efforts.[17]A published paper[18]describes the mixed success of the reintroduction program, carried out byThe Peregrine Fund.Reintroduced birds are now breeding on the Texas coast. But in theChihuahuan Desertlocations of west Texas and southern New Mexico, the birds were never successful for an extended period of time, andThe Peregrine Fundhas now abandoned the reintroduction program.

Falconry

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The aplomado falcon will chase after game such as small birds and quail, by pursuit flight, which is flying after quarry flushed out. It is mainly acquired from breeders because of its scarcity in theUnited States,and many falconers in Europe will buy a pair for about £4000. It's admired for itsaccipiter-like hunting style, which has made the bird famous for being more like an accipiter than a falcon. This is also shown through its determination to catch the quarry even going into heavy cover. They are ideal for quail, doves, and will sometimes even go after squirrel or rabbits. Unfortunately, these birds are also known for carrying their game, like many small falcons, where they try to fly away from the falconer with their catch. The range of quarry vary from sparrows to adult pheasants. One of the most difficult quarry for the aplomado is the partridge because of its strength, speed and flight distance.

American falconer Jim Nelson has written, "During the time of Shakespeare a new bird from the New World came upon the falconry scene in Spain, Portugal and France. It was known to courtiers of Henry IV and Louis XIII as theAlethe... prized as "high mettled" partridge hawks...French falconer Charles d'Arcussia is the only writer who actually saw game taken with trained Alethes. "Nelson concluded that the true identity of the Old World Alethe is the modern day aplomado falcon.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^abBirdLife International (2018)."Falco femoralis".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2018:e.T22696450A131940332.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22696450A131940332.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
  2. ^American Ornithologists' Union(1948)."Twenty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds"(PDF).The Auk.65(3): 438–443.doi:10.2307/4080493.JSTOR4080493.
  3. ^abGranzinolli, Marco Antonio M.; Motta-Junior, José Carlos (2006)."Predation on the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) and consumption of the Campo Flicker (Colaptes campestris) by the aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis) in Brazil ".Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia.14(4): 453–454.
  4. ^abcdeHowell, Steven N. G. & Webb, Sophie (1995):A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America.Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York.ISBN0-19-854012-4
  5. ^Griffiths, Carole S. (1999)."Phylogeny of the Falconidae inferred from molecular and morphological data"(PDF).The Auk.116(1): 116–130.doi:10.2307/4089459.JSTOR4089459.
  6. ^Griffiths, Carole S.; Barrowclough, George F.; Groth, Jeff G.; Mertz, Lisa (2004). "Phylogeny of the Falconidae (Aves): a comparison of the efficacy of morphological, mitochondrial, and nuclear data".Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.32(1): 101–109.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.019.PMID15186800.
  7. ^Groombridge, Jim J.; Jones, Carl G.; Bayes, Michelle K.; van Zyl, Anthony J.; Carrillo, José; Nichols, Richard A.; Bruford, Michael W. (2002)."A molecular phylogeny of African kestrels with reference to divergence across the Indian Ocean".Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.25(2): 267–277.doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00254-3.PMID12414309.
  8. ^Helbig, A. J.; Seibold, I.; Bednarek, W.; Brüning, H.; Gaucher, P.; Ristow, D.; Scharlau, W.; Schmidl, D. & Wink, Michael (1994):Phylogenetic relationships among falcon species (genusFalco) according to DNA sequence variation of the cytochrome b gene.In:Meyburg, B.-U. & Chancellor, R. D. (editors):Raptor conservation today:593–599.
  9. ^Wink, Michael; Seibold, I.; Lotfikhah, F. & Bednarek, W. (1998):Molecular systematics of holarctic raptors (Order Falconiformes).In:Chancellor, R. D., Meyburg, B.-U. & Ferrero, J. J. (editors):Holarctic Birds of Prey:29–48. Adenex & WWGBP.
  10. ^Ragusa-Netto, J. (2000)."Raptors and" campo-cerrado "bird mixed flock led byCypsnagra hirundinacea(Emberizidae: Thraupinae) ".Revista Brasileira de Biologia.60(3): 461–467.doi:10.1590/S0034-71082000000300011.hdl:11449/28947.PMID11188872.
  11. ^Silveira, Leandro; Jácomo, Anah T. A.; Rodrigues, Flávio H. G. & Crawshaw, Peter G. Jr. (1997)."Hunting Association Between the Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) and the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in Emas National Park, Central Brazil "(PDF).The Condor.99(1): 201–202.doi:10.2307/1370238.JSTOR1370238.
  12. ^Meyer, Raymond A.; Williams, Sartor O. (2005)."Recent Nesting and Current Status of Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) in New Mexico "(PDF).North American Birds.59(2): 352–356.
  13. ^"Aplomado Falcon".Forest Guardians.2008. Archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2008.RetrievedJuly 31,2008.
  14. ^McClure, C. J. W.; Pauli, B. P.; Mutch, B.; Juergens, P. (2017)."Assessing the importance of artificial nest-sites in the population dynamics of endangered Northern Aplomado FalconsFalco femoralis septentrionalisin South Texas using stochastic simulation models ".Ibis.159(1): 14–25.doi:10.1111/ibi.12419.
  15. ^Stephanie Paige Ogburn, "Bred for Success," High Country News, 13 Nov 2006
  16. ^"Groups file suit over endangered falcon protections".wildearthguardians.org.Associated Press.13 September 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2017.Retrieved22 July2017.
  17. ^"Federal judge in N.M. to consider legality of falcon decision".wildearthguardians.org.Albuquerque Journal.21 May 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 6 November 2016.Retrieved22 July2017.
  18. ^W.G. Hunt et al., "Restoring Aplomado Falcons to the United States," J. Raptor Research vol. 47, p. 335-351, 2013

Further reading

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  • Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989):A guide to the birds of Costa Rica.Comistock, Ithaca.ISBN0-8014-9600-4
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toFalco femoralis.
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