ONE would need to travel to the Northern Cape and Kalahari to see the beautiful rednecked falcon – and even there, they are uncommon and rare.
They are also found in India, in habitats comprising savanna and riverine woodland, especially in arid zones.
In Botswana and Mozambique, they favour the Barassus palms. This predator’s voice is usually silent but it is known to invoke a shrill ‘ki ki ki ki’.
It is a solitary bird, and is less often found in pairs. A swift, long-wing flier, the rednecked falcon’s wing beats are rapid, and it hunts mainly in flight and less often from its perch.
It perches in the canopy of trees and so is often overlooked. Some 98% of its food is comprised of birds, but it also eats small mammals like bats and reptiles.
It breeds from July to December, laying two to four creamy-white coloured eggs with red brown speckles in the old nest of a crow or raptor. Incubation lasts about 34 days and nestlings remain for about 36 days. They are fed by the mother, with food brought by the father.
They are not found in KZN so there is no Zulu name but the Tswanas call them Rikhozi. In Afrikaans, they’re known as rooinekvalk.
