bird of the day: the aplomado falcon

the aplomado falcon is a medium sized falcon found throughout south america, with small populations found in texas and new mexico.

the aplomado falcon feeds off of large bugs, rodents, bats, and small reptiles – but the majority of their diet consists of small birds. the falcons have been recorded with different intelligent methods of finding birds to hunt; working in pairs or groups and following maned wolves to catch the birds they flush out. while rare and expensive in captivity, some falconers use the aplomado falcon to hunt.

the female falcon is considerably larger than the male in this species. they are also overachievers when it comes to hunting – females have been recorded bringing down birds many times their size, such as ibises.

at one point, the aplomado falcon was threatened with extinction. habitat loss drove out the falcon from much of its range. however, with recovery efforts, they are now listed as ‘least concern’ by the iucn, though it should be noted that their population is declining.

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