Barbary falcon

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Barbary falcon
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Falco
Species:
F. peregrinus
Subspecies:
F. p. pelegrinoides
Trinomial name
Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides
Temminck, 1829

The Barbary falcon (Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides) is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a crow. This bird of prey is mainly resident. It ranges from the Canary Islands eastwards across some parts of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Description

The Barbary falcon is a bird of semi-desert and dry open hills. It typically lays its eggs in cliff-ledge nests.

It is similar to the peregrine falcon, but smaller at 33–39 cm (13–15 in) length with a wingspan of 76–98 cm (30–39 in). It has characteristic plumage, and adults can be recognised from peregrines. Some regard it as a distinct species since it is specialised to a desert environment. Recently, it has been found to be genetically similar to other subspecies of the peregrine falcon, so it is now considered a subspecies.

The female is larger than the male. It resembles its relative in general structure. Female Barbary Falcons are as large as male peregrine falcons.

Adults have paler grey-blue upperparts than the peregrine falcon and often have a buff wash to the barred underparts, whereas the larger species has a white background color. The nape is rufous, but this is difficult to see.

Sexes are similar, apart from size, but the young birds have brown upperparts and streaked underparts. The streaking is lighter than in the juvenile peregrine falcon.

The call is a high-pitched "rek-rek-rek".

The Barbary falcon also bears some resemblance to the lanner falcon, but can be distinguished from that species at rest by its size and in the head-pattern, flight, flight action and underwing pattern.[2]

Barbary falcon

Distribution

The Barbary falcon is native to parts of North and East Africa (Algeria, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia and Tunisia). It is also common in the Middle East, Gibraltar, Central Asia and South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. It is a vagrant in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Djibouti, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Malta, Nepal, Portugal, Qatar, Senegal and parts of Turkey that are not in Europe.[3]

Taxonomy

Close up image of Barbary Falcon perched on top of a rusty metal structure
Barbary Falcon

The Barbary falcon differs in appearance from the peregrine falcon according to

Mongolian Altai and there is clear evidence of assortative mating, with hybridization hardly ever occurring under natural conditions. In short, though they occupy adjacent territories, they breed at different times of the year and Barbary falcons virtually never breed with peregrine falcons in nature.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Assuming a genetic distance of 2% in hierofalcons

humidland populations could expand to contact again, causing some limited gene flow. This scenario, by and large, parallels the proposed evolutionary history of the saker falcon in relation to the other hierofalcons; indeed, that group shows similar patterns of molecular paraphyly though it is of somewhat earlier origin.[14]

The

sister taxa
.


Conservation and threats

The population of Barbary Falcons was once considered endangered but is now increasing. In the Canary Islands the population of breeding pairs increased from seven breeding pairs in 1988, restricted to the eastern islands, to 75 breeding pairs in 2006 across the entire archipelago. The species was thought to be extinct in Tenerife but a 2007 study found 26 breeding pairs on the island with potential for further increase indicated by suitable, unoccupied cliffs on the island. This increase has been attributed to increased urbanisation as the falcons primary food source is the domestic pigeon. Pigeon racing is a popular sport on the Canary Islands, leading the falcons to be persecuted by local pigeon racers. This human-wildlife conflict is exacerbated by misinformation such as the widespread belief that the falcons are not native to the islands.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  2. ^ Clark & Shirihai (1995)
  3. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T45354964A206217909.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. ^ Notably, the Barbary falcon has a peculiar way of flying, beating only the outer part of its wings like fulmars sometimes do; this also occurs in the peregrine falcon, but less often and far less pronounced (Snow et al. 1998). The Barbary falcon's shoulder and pelvis bones are unusually stout by comparison with the peregrine falcon and its feet are smaller (Vaurie, 1961), suggesting that hybridization has not affected the evolution of these traits. It was proposed (Vaurie, 1961) that the Barbary falcon also has an elongated middle toe, but this seems to be in error (Snow et al. 1998).
  5. phylogenetically
    informative.
  6. ^ Schollaert & Willem (2000)
  7. ^ Vaurie (1961)
  8. ^ Helbig et al. (1994)
  9. ^ Snow et al. (1998)
  10. ^ Wink et al. (1998)
  11. ^ Wink & Sauer-Gürth (2000)
  12. ^ a b Wink et al. (2000)
  13. ^ a b Wink et al. (2004)
  14. ^ a b Nittinger et al. (2005)
  15. ^ Tchernov (1968)
  16. S2CID 55041665
    .

References

External links

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