Red-necked falcon
| Red-necked falcon | |
|---|---|
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| Falco chicquera chicquera (India) | |
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| Falco chicquera ruficollis (Etosha, Namibia) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Genus: | Falco |
| Species: | F. chicquera |
| Binomial name | |
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Falco chicquera Daudin, 1800 |
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| Subspecies | |
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See text |
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| Synonyms | |
| Measurements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominate | |||
| Culmen |  |
19–24 mm (0.7–0.9 in) | |
 |
25 mm (0.98 in) | ||
| Wing | |
190–207 mm (7.5–8.1 in) | |
|
220–232 mm (8.7–9.1 in) | ||
| Tail | |
124–137 mm (4.9–5.4 in) | |
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148–156 mm (5.8–6.1 in) | ||
| Tarsus | |
35–40 mm (1.4–1.6 in) | |
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38–41 mm (1.5–1.6 in) | ||
| ruficollis | |||
| Wing | 227–240 mm (8.9–9.4 in) | ||
| Weight | 193–239.4 g (6.8–8.4 oz) | ||
See text
The red-necked falcon (Falco chicquera) is a bird of prey in the falcon family with two disjunct populations, one in India and the other in Africa. This medium-sized falcon has bluish grey wings and upper body, a chestnut red cap with short chin straps passing through the eye. The primary feathers of the wing are black and a single black band at the tip of the tail are distinctive. The Indian subspecies Falco chicquera chicquera also known as the red-headed merlin or red-headed falcon is found mainly in the open plains of the India Subcontinent although it is thought to have occurred further west in southeastern Iran. The subspecies Falco chicquera ruficollis found in sub-Saharan Africa is sometimes treated as a full species, the rufous-necked falcon (Falco ruficollis), on the basis of its well-separated geographic range and distinctive pattern. It appears very similar to the Indian form but has dark barring on the upperparts, a rufous breast band, and black moustachial and eye stripes. As in most falcons, the females are larger and falconers in India called the female turumti and the male as chatwa. They hunt in pairs mostly at dawn and dusk, capturing small birds, bats and squirrels.
The red-necked falcon is a medium-sized, long-winged species with a bright rufous crown and nape. It is on average 30–36 cm in length with a wingspan of 85 cm. The wings and upper parts are bluish grey and the tail has narrow bars, a broad subterminal black band tipped with white. The wingtip does not reach the tip of the tail at rest. The second and third primaries are the longest and almost equal in length while the first is a fourth the length. The first two primaries are notched. The legs, ceres and eyering are yellow. The tip of the bill is black while the basal portion is greenish yellow. The voice of this species is a shrill ki-ki-ki-ki. The sexes are similar except in size, males are smaller than females as is usual in falcons. Young birds are buff below with less extensive barring and duller upper plumage. The adult of the African subspecies Falco chicquera ruficollis (a full species, F. ruficollis, in many treatments) first described by William Swainson in 1837 has a white face apart from black on the moustachial stripe. The upperparts are pale grey, with black primary wing feathers and the broad tail band. The underparts are white with dark barring on the underwings, lower breast, belly and undertail. There is a rufous foreneck band (not present in the Indian form). West African males are known to weigh between 139 and 178 grams, while females are found between 190 and 305 grams. The particularly large African birds from south of the Zambezi River are often separated as subspecies Falco chicquera horsbrughi, which was described by J. W. B. Gunning & Austin Roberts in 1911 on the basis of a single specimen, but the size variation may be clinal and the subspecies may not be valid.
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