mdahlem.net WWW

Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y

6

Black Falcon (Falco subniger) Size: 45 cm (male) 55 cm (female); wing span 0.95-1.1 m Weight: 480-650 g (male), 710-950 g (female)

Australia: Family Group 6 Family Group 6 Table Osprey Brahminy Kite Whistling Kite Little Eagle Black Kite Square-tailed Kite Black-breasted Buzzard Wedge-tailed Eagle White-bellied Sea-Eagle Spotted Harrier Swamp Harrier Black-shouldered Kite Letter-winged Kite Pacific Baza Collared Sparrowhawk Brown Goshawk Grey Goshawk Red Goshawk Nankeen Kestrel Australian Hobby Peregrine Falcon Brown Falcon Grey Falcon Black Falcon Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black Falcons are relatively small raptors. The scientific name ("subniger") suggests that they are not black, but very dark brown throughout, except for a lighter brown throat. The underwing pattern is also all dark, with the flight feathers just a bit lighter than the coverts. The tail is long and very dark brown. The two sexes look similar, with only minor differences. Male Black Falcons are dark brown throughout, with flight feathers that are just a bit lighter than the rest of their plumage. Female Black Falcons have a fine pattern of grey spots on the underside of the flight feathers and on the undertail coverts and the base of the underside of the tail. Females are larger than males. Unlike many other species of falcons, they do not have a visible "tear drop" pattern under their eyes. Beak, legs and feet are grey. "Raptors" (or "birds of prey"), most prominently, but also some species of waders, show a pronounced "dimorphism", i.e. a difference between male and female birds - not just in the appearance of the plumage, but in other, important properties, such as size or strength. Here we explain why. Twitcher's tip Compared to Brown Falcons, Black Falcons have much pointier wingtips, with a more pronounced bend at the alula. In general, Black Falcons are more slender than Brown Falcons.

Taxonomy, classification See Black Falcon at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black Falcon is available HERE . Black Falcons are endemic to Australia. With a few exceptions, Black Falcons inhabit roughly the eastern half of the Australian continent plus the Kimberley in WA. They are only rarely found in the rest of WA and not at all in the south-western corner of that state. Rare in Arnhemland and along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria too, they are not found at all on Cape York peninsula. There are no sightings of Black Falcons along a narrow strip of the south-eastern coastline of NSW and Tasmania either. Black Falcons hunt mostly in open country, i.e. scrub, heath and open grassland, including semi-arid and arid environments with little vegetation. Where to look? How to find this species? Black Falcons tend to hunt in open country. They do so by circling at heights ranging from 30-100 m. The continuous circling while gradually moving along, together with their very dark overall appearance, are good identification criteria. They are visibly smaller, slimmer and usually darker than Brown Falcons.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We first spotted a Black Falcon on the outskirts of Wee Waa, NSW, in September 2012. Again spotted at Yarrie Lake, 15 km South-East of Wee Waa, in the same month. B. Hensen reports spotting Black Falcon repeatedly at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in the timeframe July/August 2013. In September 2013 we spotted a Black Falcon first above the Narrabri rubbish tip (but not scavenging in the rubbish) and a short time later above the township of Narrabri. Another was seen above Narrabri Lakein August 2017. C. Hayne reports that Black Falcons are occasionally seen in various locations around Moree, NSW. They have been seen breeding in large dead trees in irrigation farm dams 25 km North-West of Moree. H. Mouritsen reports spotting a Black Falcon near the Marrakai Track, NT, in October 2015. S. Debus and K. Fisher report finding a pair of Black Falcons nesting at the airport of Tamworth, NSW, in August 2016. M. Eaton found a Black Falcon at Lake Clarendon, QLD, in October 2018, and another at Lake Atkinson, QLD, in May 2020. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting a Black Falcon at Adels Grove, near Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP, QLD, in December 2020. A single Black Falcon was found by us at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake 30 km S of Gunnedah, NSW, in March 2023.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Direct comparison of a male Black Falcon, lower left, with a Black Kite (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Black Falcon in slow flight
[Narrabri, NSW, September 2013]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Black Falcon in flight; note the almost homogeneously dark-brown appearance
[Narrabri, NSW, September 2013]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a (probably female) Black Falcon (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a (probably female) Black Falcon (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Dorsal view of a female Black Falcon looking back (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Adels Grove, near Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP, QLD, December 2020]

Frontal/ventral view of a female Black Falcon in flight; note how the flight feathers appear to be a lighter shade of grey-brown, because the grey spot pattern is not resolved at this resolution
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, September 2012]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Black Falcon in flight
[Goran Lake, 30 km S of Gunnedah, NSW, March 2023]

Lateral view of a female Black Falcon in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, QLD, October 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a female Black Falcon in flight
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, September 2012]

Breeding information

Breeding season: July - Sep

Eggs: 3 - 4

Incubation period: ca. 33 days

Fledging age: ca. 40 days

The timing of the breeding season depends on geographic latitude; the period listed in the table above applies to the south-eastern part of the Australian continent. Black Falcons can, in principle, breed from June to December.

Nest building: N/A

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

The female incubates the eggs and also stays in the nest with the chicks until they are strong enough to be left alone. Until then, female and chicks depend entirely on the male to provide them with food.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket (re-used)

Material: Sticks

Height above ground: <10 m

Black Falcons do not build their own nests. They either re-use or take over nests of other species - either other raptors' or those of corvids (ravens or crows). They may scrape off material they don't want to use, but they do not refurbish the nest.

Female Black Falcon on its recycled Australian Raven nest, top, with the male perched on a lower branch, bottom; part of the tree, with the nest in it, was destroyed in a storm in December 2016 and the clutch was lost (photo courtesy of K. Fisher)
[Tamworth Airport, NSW, August 2016]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 42 x 32 mm

Colour: Creamy, with brown to chestnut speckles all over

Shape: Ellipsoidal

Food, Diet

All raptors are carnivores. Black Falcons prey mostly on smaller birds, such as quails, parrots and finches, but will take lizards and small mammals as well.

During the first few weeks, raptors feed their chicks with pieces of meat. Later on in their development, the chicks learn to tear apart their parents' prey.

Lateral/ventral view of a Black Falcon with its prey, a small bird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Atkinson, QLD, May 2020]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 19 March 2023, 0:47 +00:00