Bird Guide

Barred Forest Falcon vs Lined Forest Falcon

Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis)

Barred Forest Falcon

Micrastur ruficollis

Medium178 gForest

The barred forest falcon is 31 to 39 cm (12 to 15 in) long. Males weigh 144 to 184 g (5.1 to 6.5 oz) and females 200 to 322 g (7.1 to 11.4 oz). Adults of most subspecies are typically dark slate gray above; the tail is tipped with white and has three to six narrow white bars. The throat is pale gray, shading to the darker slate of the crown. The rest of the under parts, including the under-wing coverts, are white, finely and clearly barred with black or dark gray. The upper breast is a darker gray. The primary remiges are dark brownish-gray with off-white bars on the inner webs. Subspecies, M. Voice: The barred forest falcon's "advertising call" is "a somewhat dog-like, monotonous yapping, "keyak", "ark" or similar". Another call is a "bouncing-ball series..."cah cah cah-cah-cah", or similar". Neighboring males spar when one gives "a rapid, swelling chitter and the other a rapid clucking".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Barred Forest Falcon
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: km 11.6 Narupa-Loreto road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Justin Philbois · CC0
Lined Forest Falcon (Micrastur gilvicollis)

Lined Forest Falcon

Micrastur gilvicollis

Medium209 gForest

The lined forest falcon is 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) long and weighs 170 to 262 g (6.0 to 9.2 oz). It has pale gray upperparts. Its white underparts have highly variable gray barring, from light gray only on the breast to heavy bars on the entire underparts. Its tail is dark gray with a white tip and two narrow white bars. Its iris is white surrounded by bare reddish orange skin and its legs and feet are yellow. Voice: The lined forest falcon's most common vocalization is a series of "nasal "cow-káh", "cow káw-káw" or "cow káw-káw-káw""notes. It typically calls before dawn and during wet weather.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Lined Forest Falcon
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Napo: Napo Galeras, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Barred Forest Falcon and Lined Forest Falcon.