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: Herpetotherinae
Genus: Micrastur
Species: M. buckleyi - M. gilvicollis - M. mintoni - M. mirandollei - M. plumbeus - M. ruficollis - M. semitorquatus
Name
Micrastur G.R. Gray, 1841
Typus: Sparvius semi-torquatus Vieillot, 1817 = Micrastur semitorquatus
Synonyms
Carnifex Lesson, 1842
Climacocercus Cabanis, 1846
References
Gray, G.R. 1841. A list of the genera of birds: with their synonyma and an indication of the typical species of each genus. 2nd edition, revised, augmented and accompanied with an index. 115 pp. + Appendix. Richard and John Taylor (London). BHL DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.14202 Reference page. p. 6
Vernacular names
čeština: Sokolec
English: Forest falcons
suomi: Amerikanhaukkaset
Nederlands: Bosvalken
Forest falcons are members of the genus Micrastur, part of the family Falconidae. They are endemic to the Americas, found from Mexico in the north, south through Central America and large parts of South America, and as far south as northern Argentina. Most are restricted to humid tropical and subtropical forests, but the two most widespread species, the collared and the barred forest falcon, also range into drier and more open habitats.[2]
Forest falcons, like most Accipiter-type hawks (but unlike other falcons), are adapted for agility in thick cover rather than outright speed in the open air. They have short wings, long tails, and extraordinarily acute hearing. While generally visually inconspicuous, their songs are commonly heard.
Their diet is a mixture of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Hunting is often performed in goshawk fashion: the bird takes up a perch in an inconspicuous position and waits for a prey species to pass, then strikes with a short, rapid pursuit. Forest falcons are inventive, flexible hunters, and at least some species (such as the relatively long-legged collared forest falcon) are also capable of catching terrestrial prey on foot.
In 2002, a new species was described, found in the Atlantic forest and the southeastern Amazon of Brazil (and later also confirmed for adjacent parts of Bolivia). It has been named Micrastur mintoni, the cryptic forest falcon, as it is phenotypically highly similar to M. gilvicollis.[3]
Species
Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Micrastur ruficollis Barred forest falcon south-eastern Mexico through Central and South America to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina
Micrastur plumbeus Plumbeous forest falcon Chocó in south-western Colombia and north-western Ecuador.
Micrastur gilvicollis Lined forest falcon western and northern Amazon Basin.
Micrastur mintoni Cryptic forest falcon south-eastern Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Bolivia.
Micrastur mirandollei Slaty-backed forest falcon Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Micrastur semitorquatus Collared forest falcon Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
Micrastur buckleyi Buckley's forest falcon Peru, Ecuador and far southern Colombia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Micrastur was defined by George Robert Gray in the second edition of his List of the Genera of Birds in 1841.[4][5] The type species was Temminck's Falco brachypterus, with Illiger's Falco concentricus as a synonym.[4]
Composition of species comprising the genus has varied, with differing opinions on whether particular populations are species or subspecies, and whether collected specimens were different life stages or plumage variants of the same species.
Sclater and Salvin commented in 1869 that "some of the members of the genus Micrastur are at present in a state of great confusion". They listed seven species,[6] of which four[7] are currently recognised and three[8] are considered subspecies.
In 1873, Robert Ridgway noted the similarity of Micrastur to the laughing falcon Herpetotheres. He wrote that "Eight species are given in Gray’s Hand List…, but of this number only five are tenable."[9][10]
References
"Psittacidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
Bierregaard, R. O. (1994) Species accounts - Genus Micrastur. In: Del Hojo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds), Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 2, pp 252–254. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions
Whittaker, A. (2002). A new species of forest-falcon (Falconidae: Micrastur) from south eastern Amazonia and the rain forests of Brazil. Wilson Bulletin, 114, 421–445.
Gray, George Robert (1841). A list of the genera of birds : with their synonyma and an indication of the typical species of each genus (2 ed.). p. 6. On page 4 of the first edition, he lists "* !———–? Brachypterus Less."
Rees, Tony (2011). "Micrastur Gray, 1841". Interim Register of Marine and Non-marine Genera (IRMNG). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
Sclater, Philip Lutley; Salvin, Osbert. "Notes on the Species of the Genus Micrastur". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 364–369. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1869.tb07339.x.
M. semitorquatus, M. mirandollei, M. ruficollis, M. gilvicollis.
M. zonothorax, M. leucauchen, M. guerilla.
Those five were listed as: M. semitorquatus, M. mirandollei, M. ruficollis, M. leucauchen, and M. concentricus. He excluded M. castanilius as a species of Nisus (now Accipiter castanilius). He considered M. guerilla and M. zonothorax to be different forms of the same species, and that M. xanthothorax and M. gilvicollis were synonyms of M. ruficollis.
Ridgway, Robert (1873). "Revision of the falconine genera, Micrastur, Geranospiza and Rupornis, and the strigine genus, Glaucidium". Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 16: 73.
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