General

Aplomado Falcon: Medium-sized falcon with slate-gray upperparts and plain white breast. White, moustache-striped face has pale eyebrows joining at back of head. Belly and legs are cinnamon-brown. Tail is long and banded with white and black (or gray) stripes. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has brown upperparts, streaked breast, and cinnamon-brown underparts.

Range and Habitat

Aplomado Falcon: This species once bred from southwestern U.S. to the southernmost portion of South America, but it was largely extirpated by the 1930s; currently it may be seen across Mexican-American border, mostly in extreme southern Mexico. Preferred habitats include deserts, grasslands, prairie, and savanna.

Breeding and Nesting

Aplomado Falcon: Three to four heavily brown-spotted, white to light pink eggs are laid in a nest built in a tree or tall shrub; usually uses an abandoned or taken by force nest of other birds, such as Chihuahuan Ravens and Swainson's Hawks. Incubation ranges from 31 to 32 days and is carried out by both parents. Young fledge at 28 to 35 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Aplomado Falcon: Mainly eats small birds, but also feeds on insects, small mammals, and other vertebrates. Hunts cooperatively in pairs, with male typically flying above female.

Vocalization

Aplomado Falcon: Utters a shrieking "keeh-keeh-keeh" and an abrasive, single-noted "keeh" or "kiih."

Similar Species

Aplomado Falcon: Prairie Falcon has brown upperparts, dark-streaked pale underparts, and white bar on pale wing lining. Merlin and American Kestrel are seen in its range only in winter.