Pied Falconet Microhierax melanoleucos ranges northeast Indian subcontinent to south China, northern Laos, and central Vietnam. In China is uncommon resident western Yunnan to Jiangsu. Inhabits forest edge, open country, and edges of cultivation, including paddies and tea plantations, to 1500 m (4,920 ft.). Larger than Collared Falconet M. caerulescens and has broader face mask and narrower white supercilium; adult lacks rufous coloration. Clockwise from top L: Perching, with avian prey, and in flight. Xiaoqi (29.393788, 118.026127), Jiangxi, China, elev. 150 m (480 ft.), June. (Craig Brelsford)Pied Falconet exhibiting its ‘swift, powerful, shrike-like attack flight’ (Clark 1994). Pied Falconet preys on large insects, such as dragonflies; also takes birds, lizards, and small mammals. Xiaoqi (29.393788, 118.026127), Jiangxi, elev. 150 m (480 ft.), June. (Craig Brelsford)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clark, W. S. Family Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras). P. 256 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, and J. Sargatal, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, 1994.
Grimmett, Richard, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp, and Sherub. Birds of Bhutan and the Eastern Himalayas. Helm/Bloomsbury, London, 2019.
MacKinnon, John. Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press, 2022.
