Falco dickinsoni

Life-forms

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 dickinsoni
Name

Falco dickinsoni P. L. Sclater, 1864
References

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1864: 248.

Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Dickinsongrysvalk
català: Xoriguer argentat
čeština: Poštolka Dickinsonova
Cymraeg: Cudyll Dickinson
dansk: Palmefalk
Deutsch: Schwarzrückenfalke
English: Dickinson's Kestrel
español: Cernícalo dorsinegro
eesti: Kahkpea-tuuletallaja
suomi: Erakkotuulihaukka
français: Faucon de Dickinson
hrvatski: Bjeloglava vjetruša
magyar: Hamvasfejű vércse
italiano: Gheppio di Dickinson
日本語: ハイガシラチョウゲンボウ
lietuvių: Juodnugaris sakalas
Nederlands: Dickinsons Torenvalk
norsk: Hvitgumpfalk
polski: Sokół białorzytny
português: Falcão-de-dickinson
русский: Черноспинный сокол
slovenčina: Sokol tmavochrbtý
svenska: Dickinsonfalk
Türkçe: Dickinson kerkenezi
українська: Боривітер білоголовий

Dickinson's kestrel (Falco dickinsoni) is a bird of prey of southern and eastern Africa belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is named after John Dickinson, an English physician and missionary who collected the type specimen. It is also known as the white-rumped kestrel. Its closest relatives are the grey kestrel and banded kestrel and the three are sometimes placed in the subgenus Dissodectes.
Description
Iillustration by Joseph Wolf

It is a fairly small, stocky kestrel with a large, square head. It is 27–30 cm (11–12 in) long with a wingspan of 61–68 cm (24–27 in) and a weight of 167–246 g (5.9–8.7 oz). The female is about 4% larger and 10-20% heavier than the male. The plumage is mostly dark grey with a pale head and rump. The tail is grey with narrow black bars and a broad subterminal band. The underside of the flight feathers are also barred. The cere and feet are yellow and there is bare yellow skin around the eye. The bill is dark grey and the eyes are brown. Juvenile birds are grey-brown with barred flanks and without the paler head and rump. They have a greenish cere and eye-ring.

It is usually silent but has a high-pitched alarm and contact call. At the nest, a soft, mewing call attracts the young for feeding.
Distribution and habitat

It inhabits savanna and open woodland, particularly swampy areas near water. It favours miombo woodland[2] and is typically associated with palm trees (such as Hyphaene and Borassus species) and is also often found near baobab trees. It occurs in coconut plantations in some areas.

Its range covers most of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi along with north-eastern South Africa (mainly in Kruger National Park), northern Botswana, north-east Namibia, eastern Angola, southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Tanzania. It is an occasional visitor to Kenya. The total range is about 3,400,000 km2 (1,300,000 sq mi). It is generally rather scarce but is commoner in some areas such as Zanzibar and Pemba Islands. Loss of palm trees is a potential threat to the species.
Behaviour

It usually hunts from a perch and only occasionally hovers. Large insects such as grasshoppers form the bulk of the diet. It also feeds on lizards and amphibians and sometimes birds, bats, rodents and snakes. It is often attracted to grass fires where it preys on fleeing insects and other prey.

The breeding season lasts from July to October in Tanzania and September to December further south. The nest is a simple scrape with no material used. It is sited 2 to 18 m (6.6 to 59.1 ft) above the ground in the crown of a dead palm or in a hole in a baobab. Sometimes the old nest of a Hamerkop is used. One to four eggs are laid. They are cream-coloured with reddish-brown markings and are incubated by the female for at least 30 days. The young birds fledge after approximately 33 to 35 days.
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Falco dickinsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696410A93560617. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696410A93560617.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.

"Falco dickinsoni".

Beolens, Bo & Watkins, Michael (2003) Whose Bird?: Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds, Christopher Helm, London.
Channing, Keith (2007) The Hawk Conservancy Trust: Dickinson's Kestrel - Falco dickinsoni. Accessed 01/07/07.
Ferguson-Lees, James & Christie, David A. (2001) Raptors of the World, Christopher Helm, London.
Global Raptor Information Network (2007) Species account: Dickinson's Kestrel Falco dickinsoni. Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 1 Aug. 2007.
Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.
Zimmerman, Dale A.; Turner, Donald A. & Pearson, David J. (1999) Birds of Kenya & Northern Tanzania, Christopher Helm, London.