Aplomado Falcon

The Aplomado Falcon is a slim, long-tailed falcon with a striking facial pattern: a dark crown, bold white eyebrow stripe, and a black moustache mark on a pale face. The upper breast is white to buffy, separated by a dark band from a rich rufous lower belly and thighs, an unusual and distinctive pattern among falcons. Its long tail and long wings give it an especially graceful, elongated silhouette in flight.

Once extirpated from the southwestern United States due to habitat loss and other pressures, the Aplomado Falcon has been the focus of an active reintroduction program in south Texas, where captive-bred birds have helped reestablish a small wild population.

Key Field Marks

• Bold white eyebrow stripe and dark moustache mark on the face
• White to buffy upper breast separated by a dark band from rufous lower belly and thighs
• Long tail and long, slender wings compared to other falcons
• Fast, agile flight, often low over grassland

Similar Species

• American Kestrel: much smaller with a rufous back and tail, lacking the Aplomado's distinct belly band pattern.
• Merlin: stockier and more heavily streaked below, without the sharply demarcated rufous belly.

Range

Aplomado Falcons range from the southwestern United States (a reintroduced population in south Texas, with occasional records elsewhere) south through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America.

Habitat

They favor open grasslands, coastal prairie, savanna, and desert grassland with scattered yucca, mesquite, or other low trees used as hunting perches and nest platforms.

Hunting

Aplomado Falcons hunt a mix of birds, taken in fast pursuit flight often close to the ground, along with large insects such as grasshoppers and dragonflies, and occasionally small mammals; pairs sometimes hunt cooperatively, flushing prey for one another.

Voice

The call is a harsh, repeated "kek-kek-kek," typical of falcons, given in territorial or alarm contexts.

Nesting

Aplomado Falcons do not build their own nests, instead using old stick nests built by other raptors or corvids in yucca, mesquite, or other scattered trees. Clutches typically contain two to three eggs.