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RAPTORS

Raptors are carnivorous. They hunt by sight during the day, are long lived, and have low reproductive rates. They catch their prey via strong claws – three pointing forward and one pointing backward. The raptors that hunt by day are: hawks, eagle, kites, vultures, falcons. Owls hunt by night. Raptors are also called birds of prey.

Order Accipitriformes, family Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, kites, Old World vultures.
Order Accipitriformes, family Cathartidae: New World vultures
Also Accipitriformes: ospreys ( family Pandionidae); secretary bird (family Sagittariidae)
Order Falconiformes, family Falconidae: falcons
Order Strigiformes, family Strigidae: owls


Falcons and Allies

Order Falconiformes    Family Falconidae


The Falconidae family contains the falcons, kestrels, caracaras. These are small to medium sized diurnal raptors. They differ from the hawks and their allies by the way they kill their prey. They use their beaks instead of their feet. Falconiformes have a hooked bill with a cere (soft mass) near the base. They have long broad wings for soaring. Females are larger than males.

Genus Caracara
They are found in North and South America

Caracara,_Crested also Northern Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway   Found: The Americas
The Crested Caracara has black upperparts, crest, crown; white breast, neck, mantle all with black barring; white tail with black terminal band; yellow legs; color of the facial skin depends on mood and age.
Similar to: Southern Caracara. The Southern Caracara is not found in North America, Northern not found in Argentina. Northern Crested Caracara has blackish lower back; Southern Caracara's is pale with dark barring.
Image by: 1) Edwin Delorzo - Costa Rica  2) Richard Broekhuijzen - Antwerp Zoo  3) Sebastian Niedlich - Berlin Zoo   4) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens in Florida   5)  Alan D. Wilson - Texas  6) Andy_Morffew  7) Andy_Morffew - Texas  8) Mathew Paulson - Florida 
1)  Juvenile  


Caracara,_Southern  also  Southern Crested Caracara  Caracara plancus  Found: central and southern South America
The Southern Caracara has black upperparts, crest, crown; white breast, neck, mantle all with black barring; white tail with black terminal band; yellow legs; color of the facial skin depends on mood and age.
Similar to: Northern Crested Caracara. The Southern Caracara is not found in North America, Northern not found in Argentina. Northern Crested Caracara has blackish lower back; Southern Caracara's is pale with dark barring.
Image by: 1) Doug Janson  2, 3, 4) Claudio Timm - Brazil   5, 6, 7) Dario Sanches - Brazil 8) Luis Argerich - Argentina  9) Cristiano Crolle - Esteros del Iberà, Argentina 
1) Sub adult





Genus Daptrius - 1 species

Caracara,_Black  Daptrius ater  Found: South America
The Black Caracara has black plumage with a white rump; red-yellow bare facial skin; yellow legs.
Image by: 1, 2) Barloventomagico  3) - Brazil



Genus Falco

Falcon,_Amur   Falco amurensis   Found: Asia, Africa
The male Amur Falcon  has blue-gray to sooty brown upperparts; pale blue-gray breast, upper-belly; chestnut lower-belly, vent; white under-wing coverts; reddish-orange cere, feet. Female has gray upperparts; whitish breast and upper-belly with gray patterns; off-white lower-belly, vent; whitish under-tail with some barring; red feet.
Image by: 1) Ulrich_Prokop  2, 5) Ian White - South Africa  3) Drew_Heath - China  4) Bernard Dupont
  2, 3) Female  4, 5) Male



Falcon,_Aplomado Falco femoralis   Found: southwest USA to South America
The Aplomado Falcon has dark blue-gray upperparts, cap, typical falcon "moustache", patches on side of breast that meet at belly; white throat, supercilium; black eye-line; white bib with some streaking; yellow-orange eye-ring, cere, legs.
Similar to: Peregrine Falcon. Aplomado Falcon has white eyebrow (supercilium); Peregrine Falcon does not.
Similar to: Praire Falcon. Aplomado Falcon has white bib; Prairie Falcon does not.
Image by: 1) - Brazil  2) Jerry Oldenettel - Texas  3, 4) Elaine R Wilson - Texas  5) Charlie Westerinen - Boise Raptor Center
1) Male left, female right  



Falcon,_Barbary   Falco pelegrinoides  Found: Africa
The Barbary Falcon has gray-blue upperparts; white to washed-buff underparts; black typical falcon "moustache",
Similar to: Peregrine Falcon. Barbary Falcon has paler upperparts than Peregrine Falcon.
Image by: 1) Frank Vassen on the Canary Island of Lanzarote  2)  Peter Wächtershäuser


Falcon,_Bat  Falco rufigularis  Found: Mexico to South America, Trinidad
The Bat Falcon has blackish upperparts, cap, cheeks; white throat. collar; black breast, upper-belly, flanks with narrow white barring; rufous lower belly. It is so named because it eats bats.
Similar to: Orange-breasted Falcon. Orange-breasted Falcon is much larger than Bat Falcon. Bat Falcon has more extensive barring on underparts and the barring is finer.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Brazil  2)  Carlos_Henrique - Brazil 3) Alan Hopkins - Guyana  4) Jorge Montejo - Mexico


Falcon,_Black  Falco subniger  Found: Australia
The Black Falocon has dark gray or sooty brown plumage; bluish-gray bill.
Image by: 1) Stuart Harris - New South Wales  2) David Cook 3) birdsaspoetry


Falcon,_Brown  Falco berigora  Found: Australia
The Brown Falcom has light and dark forms and a variety of intermediates. It has mainly brown plumage; red-brown head; 2 dark vertical lines on either side of face; white throat; red-brown mottled wings; light blue-gray bill.
Image by: 1, 2) Benjamint444   3) Jiron - Victoria, Australia  4) Arthur Chapman  5) birdsaspoetry   6, 7) Jaurie_Boyle 
6, 7) Pale morph



Falcon. Eleonora's  Falco eleonorae  Found: Europe, Africa
Image by: 1) Michael Sveikutis - Greece  2) Francesco Veronesi - Italy  3) Innotata


Falcon,_Gray  Falco hypoleucos  Found: Australia
The Gray Falcon has mainly gray plumage; lighter underparts; faint dark streak under eye; black wing-tips; yellow eye-ring, cere, feet.
Image by: 1) Christopher Watson  2) Aharri54


Falcon,_Laggar  Falco jugger  Found: Asia
The Laggar Falcon has gray upperparts; rufous crown; black typical falcon "moustache"; whitish breast, supercilium; streaks on lower belly; gray-brown flanks. Juvenile has heavily streaked underparts."
Image by: 1) Tom Parnell  2) Koshy Koshy - India  3, 4) Philippe Boissel  
1) Juvenile


Falcon,_Lanner Falco biarmicus Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Lanner Falcon has slate-gray or brown-gray upperparts; black typical falcon "moustache"; reddish mantel, back of head; white underparts may be streaked or unstreaked; yellow eye-ring, cere, feet.
Similar to: Saker Falcon. Lanner Falcon has reddish mantle; Saker Falcon has grayish brown mantle.
Image by: 1, 2, 5) Dick Daniels - Eagle Encounters, South Africa   3) Roger Sanderson  4) Derek_Keats - South Africa



Falcon,_New_Zealand Falco novaeseelandiae  Found: New Zealand.
The New Zealand Falcon is mainly found in heavy bush and the steep high country in the South Island, It catches other birds on the wing and hardly ever eats carrion.
Image by: 1) Tony_Wills  2) Karora  3) Dick Daniels - Kiwi Wildlife Park, New Zealand   4) Robin_Ducker


Falcon,_Orange-breasted  Falco deiroleucus  Found: Mexico to northern Argentina
The Orange-breasted Falcon has blackish upperparts, cap, cheeks; white throat; rufous underparts with black barring on breast.
Similar to: Bat Falcon. Orange-breasted Falcon is much larger than Bat Falcon. Bat Falcon has more extensive barring on underparts and the barring is finer.
Image by: 1) Pinned  2) Patty McGann - Belize  3) - Brazil  4) Dominic Sherony - Belize 
1) Pair - female is larger


Falcon,_Peregrine Falco peregrinus Found: Almost everywhere
The Peregrine Falcon has slate-gray to bluish-black upperparts; black head, typical falcon "moustache", wingtips; white upper-breast; white to rusty lower-breast and belly with dark barring; yellow eye-ring, cere, feet.
Similar to: Aplomado Falcon. Aplomado Falcon has white eyebrow (supercilium); Peregrine Falcon does not.
Similar to: Barbary Falcon. Barbary Falcon has paler upperparts than Peregrine Falcon.
Similar to: Gyrfalcon. Gyrfalcon larger than Peregrine Falcon. Peregrine has "sideburns" and eye-ring.
Similar to: Praire Falcon. Adult Peregrine Falcon has horizontal lines on belly; Praire Falcon has vertical lines on belly.
Similar to: Taita Falcon. Peregrine Falcon has strongly streaked underparts, Tait Falcon has relatively plain underparts.
Image by:   1) Len Blumin - California  2) Richard Droker - Washington   3, 4) Dick Daniels - Eagle Encoumters, South Africa  5) Dick - Sunset Beach, North Carolina   6, 7, 8, 9) Dick - Carolina Raptor Center  10) Larry Meade - Florida 11) Bill Bouton - California  12) Cristiano Crolle - Knysna, South Africa
1) Fledgeling  2, 11) Juvenile


Falcon,_Prairie  Falco mexicanus  Found: arid western North America
The Prairie Falcon has gray-brown upperparts; pale underparts with some dark mottling; white supercilium; typical falcon "moustache".
Similar to: American Kestrel. Prairie Falcon is much larger. American Kestrel back is rufous; Prairie Falocn back is gray brown.
Similar to: Aplomado Falcon. Aplomado Falcon has white bib; Peregrine Falcon does not.
Similar to: Peregrine Falcon. Adult Peregrine Falcon has horizontal lines on belly; Praire Falcon has vertical lines on belly.
Image by: 1) Dominic Sherony  2) Bill Bouton - California  3) Jerry Oldenettel - New Mexico  4) Matt MacGillivray   5) US Geological Survey  6) Linda Tanner    7) Shawn McCready - Alberta  8) Dick Daniels
1) Juvenile  8) Prairie Falcon - Gyrfalcon hybrid (identified by Stephen Schabel)


Falcon,_Red-footed  Falco vespertinus  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The male Red-footed Falcon has mainly blue-gray plumage; red under-tail, legs; gray under-wings. Female has gray upperparts with barring; orange head, underparts; white face with black eye stripe and small moustache.
Image by: 1) Daniel Pettersson  2) Sergey Yeliseev - Russia    3, 4) Andrej_Chudy - Hungary  5) Ron_Knight    6) Andy_Morffew - Hungary
1, 2) Female 3, 4, 5) Male



Falcon,_Red-necked  Falco chicquera  Found: India, Africa
The Red-necked Falcon has pale gray upperparts; rufous crown, nape; white face with dark typical falcon "moustache"; white underparts with barring on lower-breast; belly, flanks, thights, under-tail; yellow eye-ring, legs.
Image by: 1) Ian White - Nambia  2) Peter Last  3) Koshy_Koshy - India  4) Yathin  - Namibia  
1) Sub adult


Falcon,_Saker  Falco cherrug   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Saker Falcon has grayish-brown upperparts; gray flight feathers; brown head with dark typical falcon "moustache"; white throat; white underparts with dark brown streaks.
Similar to: Lanner Falcon. Lanner Falcon has reddish mantle; Saker Falcon has grayish brown mantle.
Image by: 1, 2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Carolina Raptor Center  5) Sergey Pisarevskiy - south Siberia  6) Ulrich Prokop
5) Female  6) Yellow - breeding; blue - winter; green - all year



Falcon,_Sooty  Falco concolor  Found: Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region
The Sooty Falcon has blue-gray upperparts; dark trailing edge to open wing.
Image by: 1) Scops  2, 3) Frank Vassen - Madagascar


Falcon,_Taita  Falco fasciinucha  Found: eastern and southern Africa
The Taita Falcon has pale rufous underpart with  a few faint streaks, patches on nape; white throat; black typical falcon "moustache"; yellow eye-ring.
Similar to: Peregrine Falcon. Peregrine Falcon has strongly streaked underparts, Tait Falcon has relatively plain underparts.
Image by: Tiggertai


Gyrfalcon  Falco rusticolus   Found: North America, Europe, Asia
The Gyrfalcon has white, gray, and dark morphs. It is found in the Arctic region.
Similar to: Peregrine Falcon. Gyrfalcon larger than Peregrine Falcon. Peregrine has "sideburns" and eye-ring.
Image by: 1) Yaffa_Phillips 2)  Patries71  3) Olafur_Larsen  4) Tim Hickok   5) Charlie Westerinen - Boise Raptor Center w 6, 7) Ómar Runólfsson - Iceland 



Hobby,_African  Falco cuvierii  Found: Africa
The African Hobby has dark upperparts; rufous underparts, cheeks, nape, throat; yellow facial skin, feet.
Image by: 1) Aviceda  2) Nik_Borrow 


Hobby, Australian  Falco longipennis  Found: Australasia
The Australian Hobby has blue-gray upperparts; black cap, mask; rufous underparts.
Image by: 1, 4) David Cook  2, 3) Aviceda


Hobby,_Eurasian also Hobby  Falco subbuteo   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Eurasian Hobby has slate-gray upperparts; 2 short black moustricail stripes; white throat; red vent; rufous thights, under-tail coverts; whitish breast and belly with black stripes.
Image by: 1) Paulo Alves  2) Lilly M  3) Jean_Guerin - France  4) Dave_Curtis - Kenya  5) Tatiana Bulyonkova 6) Cristiano Crolle - Italy  7) Aviceda  8) Lisa - United Kingdom



Hobby, Oriental  Falco severus  Found: Indian subcontinent, Australasia
The Oriental Hobby has slate-gray upperparts; black head; white collar, throat; rufous underparts. Juvenile has darker upperparts; streaked underparts.
Image by: 1) Michael Gillam


Kestrel,_American Falco sparverius   Found: The Americas
The American Kestrel has a white head with blue-gray crown; 2 black vertical marking on both sides of face; rufous back with barring. Male has blue-gray wings with black spots. Female has rufous wings with dark barring.
Similar to: Common Kestrel. Ranges do not overlap.
Similar to: Merlin. American Kestrel has bold stripes on head; Merlin does not.
Similar to: Prairie Falcon. Prairie Falcon is much larger. American Kestrel back is rufous; Prairie Falocn back is gray brown.
Image by:  1) Bill Bouton  2) Jack Wolf - California  3) Dick Daniels - North Carolina  4) Dick - Puerto Rico    5) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens in Florida     6) Dick - Center for Birds of Prey, Charleston, South Carolina   7, 8, 9) Dick - Carolina Raptor Center  
1, 2, 3) Female  4 -9) Male

Kestrel,_Australian also Nankeen Kestrel      Falco cenchroides Found: Australia, New Guinea
The Australian Kestrel has brown or rufous upperparats; pale underparts with a black tipped tail.
Image by: 1) Benjamint444  2, 5) birdsaspoetry 3) Brett Donald  4) David Cook 



Kestrel,_Banded  also  Madagascar Barred Kestrel  Falco zoniventris  Found: Madagascar
The Banded Kestrel has gray upperparts; black tail with some white spots; whitish underparts with gray streaks on throat and upper-breast; barring on rest of underparts.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Russell Thorstrom  3) Jerry_Oldenettel


Kestrel,_Common  also  Eurasian Kestrel  Falco tinnunculus   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Common Kestrel has chestnut brown underparts and lighter underparts; dotted bars on upperparts; dotted streaks on lowerparts. Male has blue-gray cap and tail; considerably fewer dots than female.
Similar to: Lesser Kestrel. Male Lesser Kestrel has neglible dots; male Common Kestrel has many dots. Females of these species are more difficult to differentiate. Lesser Kestrel call is chay-chay-chay; Common Kestrel call is kee-kee-kee.
Image by: 1) Malgorzata Milaszewska   2) Tanque Sani - India  3) Agustín_Povedano  4) Frebeck 5) Dick Daniels- England 6)  Sergey Pisarevskiy - south Siberia  7) raz1940_et_Charlotte  8) Andreas Trepte  
1 -4) Female   5 -8) Male


Kestrel, Dickinson's  Falco dickinsoni  Found: Africa
The Dickinson's Kestrel has dark gray upperparts; pale grey head, neck, underparts; pale gray under-tail with black bars; yellow eye-ring, ceres, feet.
Image by: 1, 2) Jerry Oldenettel - Zimbabwe  3) Lip_Kee - Malawi


Kestrel, Fox  Falco alopex  Africa
The Fox Kestrel has mainly rufous upperparts with black streaks; tail barred with black; flight feather black and unbarred.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Philippe Dandois


Kestrel,_Gray  Falco ardosiaceus  Found: west and central Africa. Often found near palms
The gray Kestrel has uniformly gray plumage except for darker wingtips, faint dark streaking on the body, slightly barred flight feathers. It has orange eye-ring; yellow cere, feet; flat top of head.
Image by: 1) JV Verde - Gambia  2) Richard_Sharpe  3) Allan_Hopkins - Gambia


Kestrel, Greater  Falco rupicoloides  Found: Africa
The Greater Kestrel has mainly rufuous plumage; black bars on back,upper-wing, flanks; dark streaks on head, breast; gray rump and tail with black streaks; whitish iris (distinuishing feature); no malar stripe (distinuishing feature); yellow cere, feet.
Image by:  1) Frank Vassen - Etosha National Park, Namibia  2) Thomas Schoch - Etosha National Park, Namibia   3) Alastair Rae - Namibia  4, 5) Bill Kennedy - Namibia  6) Ian White



Kestrel, Lesser  Falco naumanni   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The male Lesser Kestrel has a brown back; gray head; some black on tail; pale underparts. Female has dark barred upperparts; dark streaked underparts.
Similar to: Common Kestrel. Male Lesser Kestrel has neglible dots; male Common Kestrel has many dots. Females of these species are more difficult to differentiate. Lesser Kestrel call is chay-chay-chay; Common Kestrel call is kee-kee-kee.
Image by: 1, 2) Neil Gray - Hanover, Northern Cape, South Africa   3) Werner Witte - Turkey   4, 5) Sergey Yeliseev - Kazakhstan  6) Cristiano Crolle - Matera, Italy  7) Tony Morris - Spain
1) Male left, females others  2) Female   3 - 7) Male



Kestrel,_Madagascar  Falco newtoni  Found: Madagascar
Image by: 1) Fir Z   2) David Cook   3) Dick Daniels - Isalo, Madagascar  4) Zak_Pohlen


Kestrel, Maurtius  Falco punctatus  Found: Mauritus (island nation in Indian Ocean)
Image by: 1) Jjargoud 2) Josh_Noseworthy


Kestrel,_Rock Falco rupicolus  Found: Africa
Image by:  1) Dick Daniels - World of Birds  2, 3) Dick - Eagle Encounters   4) Sandy Cole - De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa  5) matlacha - South Africa  6) Bernard_Dupont - South Africa



Kestrel, Seychelles  Falco araeus  Found: Seychelles Islands (off African west coast)

The male Seychelles Kestrelhas reddish-brown upperparts with black spots; buff underparts; dark blue-gray head, rump; blue-gray bill with black bars; dark bill;  yellow cere, feet. Female similar to male but a little bigger and paler.
Image by: Nicholas Martens


Kestrel,_Spotted  Falco moluccensis  Found: Australasia
Image by: 1) Karyadi Baskoro  2) Waskito_Kukuh  3) Sigit Pribadi


Merlin Falco columbarius   Found: North America, Europe, Asia
The male Merlin has blue-gray upperparts ranging from almost black to sliver-gray; buff to orange underparts  which are heavily streaked. Female has dark brown to brownish-gray upperparts. Both sexes have a weak off-white supercilium.
Similar to: American Kestrel. American Kestrel has bold stripes on head; Merlin does not.
Image by:  1) Omarrun - Iceland  2) USFWS  3) Len Blumin - California  4) Dick Daniels - North Carolina   5) Jerry Oldenettel  - New Mexico   6)   Raj Boora - Alberta, Canada  7) Just a Prairie Boy  8) Alan D. Wilson   




Genus Herpetotheres - 1 species

Falcon,_Laughing   Herpetotheres cachinnans  Found: South America
The Laughing Falcon has blackish-brown back, wings; pale head with broad black mask; whitish underparts;
Image by: 1) Ni to il  2) Andreas_Trepte  3) Ken Erickson - Liberia, Costa Rica  4) Claudio_Timm



Genus Ibycter - 1 species

Caracara,_Red-throated  Ibycter americanus  Found: Mexico, Central Americal, northern South America
The Red-throated Caracara has black upperparts; white belly, flanks, under-tail coverts; bare red face and throat (may also be rosy or purple); bluish-gray cera; orange legs, feet.
Image by: 1, 2) Sean McCann  2) Margaux1900 



Genus Micrastur
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.

Falcon,_Barred_Forest-  Micrastur ruficollis  Found: Mexico, Central America, South America
The Barred Forest-Falcon has slate gray upperparts; 3 to 6 narrow white bars on tail; pale gray throat; white underparts with dark gray barring.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador   2) Dario Sanches - Brazil 3) David_Rodríguez_Arias - Costa Rica 4) Francesco Veronesi 
1) Juvenile


Falcon,_Buckley's Forest-  Micrastur buckleyi   Found: Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Buckley's Falcon has blackish upperparts; white underparts, collar; black tail with white bands. The distinctive call of Buckley's is a mournful two- or three-noted series, the first note higher-pitched.
Image by: 1) Ursula Valdez  2) Joe Tobias


Falcon,_Collared Forest-  Micrastur semitorquatus  Found: Mexico, Central America, South America
The Collared Forest-Falcon has 3 color morphs: pale, dark, tawny. Pale tawny has a collar for which the species is named. The species easily identified by its distinctive humanlike ‘aw’ notes,
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Dick Culbert  3) Francesco_Veronesi - Ecuador  4) Dominic Sherony


Falcon,_Cryptic_Forest-  Micrastur mintoni  Found: Bolivia, Brazil
Similar to: Lined Forest-Falcon. The Cryptic Forest-Falcon only has a single white tail-band (in additiont to narrow white tail #tip). Lined Forest-Falcon has 2 narrow white tail bands.
Image by: 1) Joao_Quental


Falcon,_Lined Forest-  Micrastur gilvicollis  Found: South America
The Lined Forest-Falcon has gray upperparts;  pale underparts with narrow dark barring; yellow-fleshy facial skin .
Similar to: Cryptic Forest-Falcon. The Cryptic Forest-Falcon only has a single white tail-band (in additiont to narrow white tail tip). Lined Forest-Falcon has 2 narrow white tail bands.
Image by: 1) Marcus Barros  2) Arthur Grosset  3) Tony Castro - Ecuador


Falcon,_Plumbeous Forest-  Micrastur plumbeus Found: Columbia, Ecuador
Image by: 1) Salvatore Chamu  2) Lou Hegedus


Falcon,_Slaty-backed Forest-  Micrastur mirandollei  Found: Central America, northern South America
The Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon has gray upperparts; white underparts; rounded tail with 3 white bands;
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Jenn Sinasac - Panama  3) - Panama  4) Rudimar Cipriani



Genus Microhierax
The falconets are the smallest members of the falcon family.

Falconet, Black-thighed  Microhierax fringillarius  Found: southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia
The male Black-thighted Falconet has glossy black upperparts; white forehead streak arcs around black cheeks; white breast shades to rudous belly; black thighs, flanks. Female similar to male and has longer tail.
Image by: 1) M Skyrider  2, 3, 4) Paul Williams - Malaysia


Falconet,_Collared  Microhierax caerulescens  Found: southeast Asia, Malaysia
The Collared Falconet has blackish upperparts; whitish underparts; wide black eye-arc.
Image by: 1) Heinrich von Kittlitz  2) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand3) Thet Zaw Naing - Myanmar 


Falconet,_Philippine  Microhierax erythrogenys  Found: Philippines
The Philippine Falconet has glossy blue-black upperparts, flanks, thighs; white rest plumage; black bill, feet.
Image by: 1) Jeff Delonge  2) Eric_Gropp


Falconet,_Pied  Microhierax melanoleucos  Found: southeast Asia
The Pied Falconet has black-and-white plumage; mainly black upperparts; white underparts; black mask; white supercilium.
Image by: 1) Ron Knight - China  2) Ray_Cui


Falconet,_White-fronted  Microhierax latifrons  Found: Bornea (Malaysia)
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Wong_Tsu_Shi
1) Male left; female right



Genus Milvago

Caracara,_Chimango  Milvago chimango  Found: South America
Image by: 1, 2) - Argentina  3, 4, 5, 7, 8) Claudio Timm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil    6) Cristiano Crolle - ChimLas Gaviotas, Argentina  9) Charlie Westerinen - the Ushuaia, Argentina land fill
1) Fledgling 2) Juvenile




Caracara,_Yellow-headed Milvago chimachima Found: tropical and subtropical South America
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels  4, 5) Dario Sanches  4, 7, 8) Claudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil   6) Edward Weston - Esparza, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
1, 2) Juvenile



Genus Phalcoboenus
The adults are distinctive, with bare yellow, orange or red facial skin and cere, and a black plumage with variable amounts of white.

Caracara,_Carunculated  Phalcoboenus carunculatus  Found: South America
The Carunculated Caracara has black upperparts; black heasd with orange face; breast and upper-belly black with white stripes
Image by: 1, 2) - Ecuador  3) Gary_Clark - Ecuador  4) Vista Quito  5) Tad Boniecki - Ecuador 



Caracara,_Mountain  Phalcoboenus megalopterus  Found: South America
Image by: 1, 5) - Peru  2) Elmarto  3) Julia Manzerova near Machu Picchu, Peru   4) Dick Daniels- Peru   6, 7) Dick - World of Birds



Caracara,_Striated  Phalcoboenus australis   Found: vicintiy of Falkland Islands 
The Striated Caracara  has mainly black plumge; neck flecked with gray; orange legs, lores.
Image by: 1) Liam_Quinn  2) Ben Tubby- the Falklands  3) David_Cook   4) Fbiole - the Falklands


Caracara,_White-throated  Phalcoboenus albogularis  Found: Argentina, Chile
The White-throated Caracara has black upperparts, white underparts.
Image by: 1) John Gould  2, 3) Dominic Sherony - Argentina  3) Kiersten Rowland



Genus Polihierax

Falcon,_African_Pygmy also  Pygmy Falcon  Polihierax semitorquatus  Found: Africa
The male Pygmy Falcon has gray upperparts, crwon, nape; white face, underparts. Female has chestnut back.
Image by: 1) Sumeet_Moghe  2) Becky_Matsubara  - Tanzania   3) Steve Garvie   4) Heather_Paul 


Falcon,_White-rumped  Polihierax insignis  Found: Indochina
The male White-rumped Falcon has gray upperparts; white underparts with black marking on breast; black tail barred with white. Female simialr excprt has rufous mantle.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Nigel Voaden



Genus Spiziapteryx - 1 species

Falconet, Spot-winged  Spiziapteryx circumcincta  Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay
The Spot-winged Falconet has grayish-brown upperparts; white underparts with dark streaking; white spots on flight feathers and wing-coverts.
Image by: 1) John Jennens  2, 3) - Argentina  4) Fabrice Schmitt





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