Breeding behaviour and diet of the Brown Falcon Falco berigora near Goulburn, New South Wales, in 2018
C. J. Bollen
pp. 121-123
Abstract
The breeding behaviour and diet of a pair of Brown Falcons Falco berigora in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales in 2018 were studied by c.54 hours of observation over 38 days from incubation to post-fledging, and by analysis of pellets and orts. Both the male and the female, primarily the female, incubated but only the female brooded and fed the chicks, and the male provided food at 0.2 item/h during incubation and 0.3 item/h during the nestling period. Observed prey brought to the nest area was, by number, 31% mammal, 31% bird, 23% reptile and 15% unidentified (apparently vertebrate), although some pellets included insects. The two juvenile Falcons appeared to be dependent for at least 3 weeks after fledging. These findings supplement those for a previous study in the general area almost three decades earlier, and for other recent studies in the nearby study region and elsewhere.
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