Falco berigora

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Falconiformes

Familia: Falconidae
Subfamilia: Falconinae
Genus: Falco
Species: Falco berigora
Subspecies: F. b. berigora - F. b. centralia - F. b. novaeguineae - F. b. occidentalis - F. b. tasmanicus
Name

Falco berigora Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
References

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (1) 15(1826) p. 184
Vernacular names
čeština: Raroh proměnlivý
English: Brown Falcon
suomi: Ruskojalohaukka
français: Faucon bérigora
Nederlands: Grote bruine valk
Türkçe: Kahverengi doğan

The brown falcon (Falco berigora) is a relatively large falcon native to Australia and New Guinea.

A number of plumage morphs occur, with the primary distinction being between the pale morph and the dark morph. Both morphs usually have dark brown upper parts and wing coverts. Dark morph birds have predominantly dark under parts, although some light streaking is common. Pale morph birds have white underparts that are varyingly streaked with brown, sometimes heavily so. Pale individuals may also have prominently white under tail coverts and these may be diagnostic. A distinctive aspect of their behaviour is shown in the breeding season when brown falcons make a loud, high pitched, cackle call (like a laying hen) and screeching while in flight.[2]

The species name berigora has Aboriginal origins.
Description

Adults are usually 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) long. They are found in light and dark forms and a variety of intermediates. Animals typically have red-brown heads with narrow black streaks with a light crown and off-white chin. Wings are a spotted red-brown with dark brown quills. Beaks are light blue/grey; eyes are brown. The falcons make a loud cackle call uttered frequently.
Breeding and habitat

Brown falcons breed from June to November, usually in an old nest of a larger passerine or another hawk species; they occasionally nest in hollow limbs of trees. The brown falcon lays between two and five eggs that have red and brown spots and blotches.
Subspecies

F. b. novaeguineae : central and eastern New Guinea and coastal northern Australia[3]
F. b. berigora : Australia (except coastal north) and Tasmania

Diet

The brown falcon eats small mammals, including house mice. They also eat young rabbits in the summer. It also eats small birds, lizards, snakes, and a variety of invertebrates, particularly caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles. Insects form the bulk of the animals' diets during winter and the falcons often chase the insects on the ground.
Behaviour

Brown falcons and other Australian firehawks have been said to pick up sticks with flames and dropping them to spread fires and prey on escaping animals.[4] According to Audubon, "That anecdotal evidence is sourced from personal testimonies by Australian firefighters and aboriginal people, as well as historical literature, and amounts to 14 firsthand narratives of this specific occurrence."[5][6]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Falco berigora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696354A93556228. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696354A93556228.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
"Brown Falcon". Archived from the original on August 31, 2021.
IOC World Bird List
Greshko, Michael (8 January 2018). "Why These Birds Carry Flames In Their Beaks". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
Schmitt, Kristen (February 22, 2016). "Can Birds Actually Start Forest Fires?: Anecdotal evidence suggests that certain birds of prey use fire to their advantage—but the research hasn't been caught on camera yet". Audubon. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

Bonta, Mark; Gosford, Robert; Eussen, Dick; Ferguson, Nathan; Loveless, Erana; Witwer, Maxwell (2017). "Intentional Fire-Spreading by "Firehawk" Raptors in Northern Australia". Journal of Ethnobiology. 37 (4): 700. doi:10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700. S2CID 90806420.