Falco eleonorae (Eleonora's falcon) 

Eleonoravalk [Afrikaans]; Eleonora-valk [Dutch]; Faucon d'Éléonore [French]; Eleonorenfalke [German]; Falcão-da-rainha [Portuguese]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Falconiformes > Family: Falconidae

Eleonora's falcon, Formentor peninsula, Mallorca, Spain. [photo Steve Garvie ©]

Distribution and habitat

Breeds in the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Canary Island to Cyprus, heading south in the breeding season to Madagascar and north-eastern Africa. It is a vagrant to southern Africa, with records in north-western and eastern Zimbabwe, coastal Mozambique, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It generally prefers moist, forested or well-wooded areas, even if they are partially cleared for agriculture.

References

• Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.