Aplomado Falcon

The Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) is an elegant, medium-sized raptor native to the Americas. Its common name, aplomado, is Spanish for "lead-colored," referencing the handsome slate or blue-grey plumage of its upperparts. Combining the agility of a Cooper's Hawk with the sheer speed of a typical falcon, this bird is a highly specialized hunter of open landscapes. Once a common breeding species in the southwestern United States, the northern subspecies (F. f. septentrionalis) suffered severe declines in the early 20th century due to habitat loss, overgrazing, and pesticide exposure. Intensive reintroduction programs led by conservation groups have successfully brought breeding pairs back to coastal Texas and southern New Mexico grasslands.

The Aplomado Falcon is exceptionally colorful and slender compared to other North American falcons.

Key Field Marks:

• Facial Pattern: A bold, complex facial map featuring a white or buffy eyebrow stripe (supercilium) that extends backward and wraps around to meet at the nape. A prominent dark stripe runs through the eye, paired with a distinct dark malar stripe (mustache).
• Underparts: A clean buff-to-cinnamon upper breast, bordered below by a striking, dark-barred black band—commonly referred to as a "cummerbund"—which contrasts sharply with a bright orange-rufous belly, thighs, and undertail coverts.
• Upperparts: Uniform slate-grey or blue-black back, mantle, and wing coverts.
• Tail: Noticeably long and narrow, dark grey with thin, evenly spaced white or light-grey horizontal bars.

Similar Species:

• American Kestrel: Much smaller, with warm rufous-brown tones on the back and tail, and lacking the solid black belly band.
• Peregrine Falcon: Larger, much bulkier, with a heavy-shouldered profile. It lacks the orange-rufous underparts and the prominent white eyebrow stripes of the Aplomado.
• Merlin: Lacks the highly structured orange, black, and white breast-belly patterns, exhibiting a Streaked breast instead.

Aplomado Falcons are birds of wide-open, tree-dotted landscapes.

• Primary Habitats: They favor dry, lowland grasslands, semi-arid deserts with scattered yuccas and cacti, tropical savannas, coastal prairies, and open pine-oak woodlands.
• Geographic Range: Their range extends from the southernmost tip of South America (Patagonia) northward through Central America and Mexico, reaching its northernmost boundary in southern Texas, New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona.
• Migration: Across most of their neotropical range, Aplomado Falcons are year-round residents. Only the southernmost populations breeding in South America migrate north toward the equator during the austral winter.

Hunting Strategy: Aplomado Falcons are famously cooperative hunters, a trait rare among raptors. Breeding pairs often hunt in tandem: one mate flies low to flush small birds or insects out of thickets and brush, while the other waits on a high perch or hovers aloft to intercept the startled prey in mid-air. They are incredibly agile, capable of pursues both on the wing and on foot through dense brush.

Voice: Their vocalizations consist of rapidly repeated, high-pitched, shrill cackling or chattering notes, transcribed as a sharp kee-kee-kee-kee-kee or cack-cack-cack. These are typically used during territorial defense, courtship displays, or when warning off intruders near the nest site.

Nesting: Like other falcons, Aplomados do not build their own nests. Instead, they occupy abandoned stick nests constructed by other medium-to-large birds, such as Chihuahuan Ravens, Swainson's Hawks, or Crested Caracaras. These nests are usually located in the crowns of tall yuccas, mesquite trees, or palms, providing a wide view of the surrounding savanna.