Orange-breasted falcon

Species of bird

The orange breasted falcon (Falco deiroleucus) is a Near Threatened bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Panama, and either definitely or probably in every South American country except Chile and Uruguay.

The orange breasted falcon and the bat falcon (F. rufigularis) share plumage and vocal characteristics and may be sister species. Those two appear to be closely related to the aplomado falcon (F. femoralis). The orange breasted falcon is monotypic. The orange breasted falcon is dependent of tropical rain and semi deciduous forest with cliffs for nesting. It favors uninterrupted mature forest but also occurs in a mosaic landscape of forest and more open areas.

Orange breasted falcon pairs occupy their territories year round. Young disperse when independent but the distance typically traveled is not known.

Both sexes of the orange breasted falcon are highly vocal when breeding. Their aggressive defense call is "a rapid fire key key key key repeated over and over until the threat subsides". The call has also been described as "kyowh kyowh kyowh". Pairs utter soft chirps or piping sounds as part of courtship.

The IUCN has assessed the orange breasted falcon as Near Threatened. Though it nominally has a large range, the species is sparsely distributed in it. Its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. Clearing of forest for timber, agriculture, and ranching is the principal threat. Black vultures and Africanized bees are known or suspected to affect nesting success. The Peregrine Fund captive breeds orange breasted falcons. Since 2007 the organization has bred and released 56 falcons into the wild in Belize. As of 2013, 23 had become independent and some have paired with wild bred birds and entered the local breeding population.