The spotted kestrel is also known as the Moluccan kestrel.
Region
Wallacea, Eastern Indonesia
Typical Environment
Found across the Maluku Islands in a variety of open and semi-open habitats. It frequents grasslands, scrub, coconut groves, agricultural fields, and forest edges, often near human settlements. The species also hunts along coastal plains and lightly wooded hillsides. It uses perches such as fence posts and utility wires as vantage points.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the Moluccan kestrel, this small falcon is native to Indonesia’s Maluku Islands. It hunts by hovering into the wind and striking quickly on insects, lizards, and small vertebrates. The “spotted” name refers to its heavily speckled underparts. It adapts well to mosaic landscapes, including plantations and village edges.
A spotted kestrel in flight
Temperament
alert and moderately territorial
Flight Pattern
frequent hovering with rapid wingbeats, short glides, agile and direct flight
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, especially during the breeding season. Likely monogamous, nesting in tree cavities, cliff ledges, or old nests of other birds without adding much nest material. Pairs defend a small territory around nest and favored hunting grounds.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are sharp, high-pitched kik-kik-kik notes, often given in rapid series. Alarm and territorial calls are louder and more insistent. Vocalizations carry well over open habitats.
Plumage
Rufous to warm brown upperparts with dark spotting; pale buff underparts heavily spotted or streaked. Males often show a greyer tail with a bold black subterminal band; females are more extensively barred. The crown and nape are brownish, with a subtle dark moustachial stripe. Flight feathers are darker, creating contrast with the rufous coverts.
Diet
Takes large insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, and cicadas, along with lizards, small rodents, and occasionally small birds. Hunts by hovering into the wind or from exposed perches before making swift, low strikes. Prey is typically subdued on the ground and eaten on a perch. Opportunistic and will exploit abundant seasonal insect swarms.
Preferred Environment
Hunts over open fields, fallow land, coastal flats, and edges of secondary forest. Often uses man-made perches like poles and wires to scan for prey. Will also hunt along roadsides and in plantation clearings.
