Diet and Foraging

Orange-breasted Falcon feeds on a wide variety of small to medium size birds (including wild pigeons, doves, trogons, tityras, tanagers, woodpeckers, parakeets, small parrots, swifts, swallows, shorebirds, and other Neotropical migrants) and bats . Species documented to be in the diet of Orange-breasted Falcon in Guatemala and Belize are listed below (22 Baker, A.J., Whitacre, D.F. and Aguirre, O.A. (2012). Orange-breasted Falcon. Pp. 296–312 in: Whitacre, D.F. (ed.) Neotropical Birds of Prey: Biology and Ecology of a Forest Raptor Community. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. Close , Jonathon Urbina personal communication):

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus

Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos

Spotted Sandpiper Actitus macularius

Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes

Scaled Pigeon Patagioenas speciosa

Ruddy Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti

Blue Ground-Dove Claravis pretiosa

Ruddy Quail-Dove Geotrygon montana

Gray-headed Dove Leptotila plumbeiceps

Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura

Squirrel Cuckoo Piaya cayana

Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor

Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis

White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris

Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift Panyptila cayennensis

Slaty-tailed Trogon Trogon massena

Citreoline Trogon Trogon citreolus

Gartered Trogon Trogon caligatus

Blue-capped Motmot Momotus coeruliceps

Northern Emerald-Toucanet Aulacorhynchus prasinus

Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus

Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons

Golden-olive Woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus

White-crowned Parrot Pionus senilis

Olive-throated Parakeet Eupsittula nana

Northern Barred-Woodcreeper Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae

Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus

Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus

Black-crowned Tityra Tityra inquisitor

Masked Tityra Tityra semifasciata

Rose-throated Becard Pachyramphus aglaiae

Brown Jay Psilorhinus morio

Green Jay Cyanocorax yncas

Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Purple Martin Progne subis

Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea

Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus

Clay-colored Thrush Turdus grayi

Tropical Mockingbird Mimus gilvus

Tennessee Warbler Oreothlypis peregrina

Red-legged Honeycreeper Cyanerpes cyaneus

Botteri's Sparrow Peucaea botterii

Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus

Melodious Blackbird Dives dives

Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus

Perches high in a dead tree or cliff, then dives on birds or bats from above or chases birds on the horizon, accelerating in long direct or climbing pursuit, often punctuated by a short stoop from above. Also hunts by stooping from tremendous heights, as Peregrine Falcons do, clutching or striking a disabling blow to its victim, then scooping it up in its net-like feet before the quarry disappears into the canopy below. It also uses a stealth strategy for capturing migrating songbirds, shorebirds, and bats, by silhouetting them against the sky at dusk and dawn. Orange-breasted Falcon is unusual in hunting primarily above the canopy (23 Berry, R.B., Benkman, C.W., Muela, A., Seminario, Y. and Curti, M. (2010). Isolation and decline of a population of the Orange-breasted Falcon. Condor. 112(3): 479–489. Close ).