Falco rupicoloides
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The greater kestrel (Falco rupicoloides) or white-eyed kestrel is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is one of the largest kestrels and is found in open country in southern and eastern Africa. The plumage of the adult is mainly pale rufous, both above and below. The back, upperwing and flanks are barred with black. The breast has dark streaks and the head is streaked but has no malar stripe unlike the common and lesser kestrels. The rump and tail are grey with black bars; the tail has a white tip. In flight, the whitish underwing contrasts with the darker body. The iris of the eye is whitish, distinguishing the bird from any similar species. The bill is mainly blue-grey and the feet and cere are yellow. Juvenile birds have rufous instead of grey on the tail, streaked flanks and a dark eye.
The bird is 29–37 cm (11–15 in) long with a wingspan of 68–84 cm (27–33 in) The southern subspecies F. r. rupicoloides weighs about 181–334gr (.400–.736 lb). The form F. r. arthuri is smaller, weighing about 165–252gr (.364–.556 lb). The northern subspecies F. r. fieldi is also small and is paler than the others.
The species is usually silent but has a... Wikipedia →
Call0:22
Tanzania · 2019
© Peter Boesman · XC510170 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Kestrel sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 116 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 262nd most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Kestrel in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Kestrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Greater Kestrel sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 30%), Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia, about 20%) and Serengeti National Park (Tanzania, about 10%).
Same genus: Falco
The closest relatives of the Greater Kestrel that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Falco, Typical Falcons) are Lesser Kestrel (about 10%) and Lanner Falcon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Kestrel is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (116 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
