They are tiny, but they are mighty. They might be short on inches but they’re definitely not short on intelligence and raptor power.
Here are 10 of the most compact and smartest avian killers on earth.
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Smallest birds of prey in the world
Elf Owl
This is officially the world’s smallest owl as it stands only 13-15cm tall (5-6in) or about the size of a European robin. Elf owls predate mainly insects and spiders, but also small mammals, lizards and scorpions in their desert and drythorn forest habitats.
They live in southwest USA and northern Mexico in the summer. There they nest in cavities formed by other birds in the stems of cacti, trees such as cottonwoods, and even fenceposts, robustly defending them against animals much larger than themselves. If anything threatens their chicks, these little mobsters will see off the intruder with aerial swoops and dog-like yipping sounds.
Despite their ferociousness they are intelligent enough to exploit a situation. A pair of elf owls can be enticed into a man-made nestbox, especially if it is near lights that will attract moths and other flying insect prey. And in winter they migrate south to central and south Mexico to stay warm, although there is a year-round population in Baja California.
These little birds also have a clever ploy to save themselves from being captured. They will stop moving and go totally limp so that they appear to be dead. This confuses their would-be attacker, causing them to release their hold, which allows the owls to suddenly ‘come back to life’ and escape.
The Asian Falconets
On the Asian continent there are two members of the falcon family that punch above their tiny weights. The first is the Black-thighed Falconet, the smallest of the two that is only a couple of centimetres, or an inch, bigger than an elf owl.
As the name implies, their plumage is black at the tops of their legs and merges into their black backs and heads. This funereal garb is enlivened with a white breast and dark rusty-red belly, with bold ‘quote marks’ in white behind the eyes. They live in the forests of Thailand, Myanmar, Java, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Next up is the White-fronted Falconet, slightly bigger than the black-thighed, with a predominantly white head and lacking the deep rufus underparts. It is found only on the island of Borneo. Both falconets are very sociable raptors and can often be found clustering in small flocks for feeding and grooming. They are aerial ambushers who catch their prey on the wing by darting out from a hidden perch to feed on butterflies, moths, dragonflies, termites and cicadas.
Pygmy Falcon
The smallest bird of prey on the entire African continent, the pygmy falcon weighs about as much as a golf ball. These clever little birds cope with extreme summer heat and winter chill by making use of unused chambers in a weaver bird colony to shelter and raise their young.
These often-vast woven grass nests hanging in trees are masterpieces of efficient insulation and ventilation and often have handy spaces available for other bird species. Pygmy falcons mark the chambers they are using by liberally coating the entrance tunnels in excrement. No one really knows the reason for this but it could be that the noxious faecal matter puts off snakes that might enter and eat the chicks.
Although pygmys eat smaller birds as well as reptiles and insects, they don’t bother the weavers, presumably recognising their usefulness as home providers. That doesn’t mean the weavers are oblivious to the presence of a predator, though.
They set up a cacophony of noise to alert the colony when they arrive. Some of the pygmy falcon’s prey species, such as tree skinks, have learnt to make use of the weavers and their alarm calls – as an early warning of the arrival of a predator in the area and the need to make themselves scarce.
Tiny Hawk
This handsome little raptor inhabits the wet lowland forests of Central and South America. It is a hunter of smaller avian species, especially hummingbirds, although it will sometimes make do with insects. Only about the size of a starling, it can easily be mistaken for a songbird because of its chirpy little calls and whistles.
Unlike other hawks that fly in a flap-flap-glide pattern, the tiny hawk makes multiple flaps and then folds its wings close to its body for a short space of time before flapping again, which suits its woodland habitat. It also darts backwards and forwards between perches when it is hunting, snatching its prey on the wing or pouncing on it when it is sitting on a branch, using its long legs and toes to get a good killing grip.
Pearl Kite
This is another mini-raptor of Central and South America, but the pearl kite inhabits open spaces rather than forests. Its colouring is a delicate grey on the back – hence the name – with buffy-coloured patches on the face and flanks and a white belly and collar. They are devourers of small lizards, which they can swoop down on from on high in an unseen attack, so they do not need to hide themselves away.
Pearl kites are often seen sitting at the top of dead trees or on telegraph poles where they have a good vantage point to see a scurrying reptile. The birds that live in Peru and Ecuador are particularly fond of the knobbed Pacific iguana, but wherever they make their home, pearl kites will also eat geckos, frogs and cockroaches. Originally, they were thought to be an offshoot of the falcon family, but recent research has placed them closer to the kite genus, Elanus.
Bat Falcon
These birds of prey break down into three subspecies across the whole of South America and north as far as the Caribbean and the southern United States. Mature tropical forests are their preferred home but they can also be found along the forest edges and cleared land, so long as there are a few trees remaining. They also like man-made structures as perches, so birdwatchers visiting Mayan ruins can often have the added treat of seeing a bat falcon or two keeping watch. At times they even turn up in urban areas, following their very varied prey animals.
The birds’ name comes from the fact that they will predate on bats, hence their liking for structures where bats might hang out, but they are really not fussy – small mammals, frogs, lizards, multiple species of insects, beetles, birds such as swallows, parakeets and waders, are all staple foods. These raptors look a little like bats themselves, being diminutive in size and mostly black in colour, apart from a reddish vent and legs and a whitish collar.
American Kestrel
This is the most compact kestrel in North America and the one you are most likely to see. Although it bears the name kestrel, due to assumptions made in the past before DNA studies, it has more recently been redesignated as a type of falcon. Nevertheless, the original name has stuck, justified because its appearance and hunting techniques are similar to true kestrels.
These are formidable predators, with talons and beaks that are large for their size. They use these weapons effectively, for seeking out insects, small birds, lizards, amphibians, and rodents as large as squirrels. In fact, it is not unknown for an American kestrel to bring down a mammal or bird nearly twice its size. They hover like European kestrels and mostly take their prey on the ground, plunging down on it with deadly accuracy. Because of the American kestrel’s method of hunting, its intelligence and trainability, it is a popular falconer’s bird.
Shikra or Little-banded Goshawk
Found across central Africa, India and Southeast Asia in more than 60 countries, the shikra inhabits dry, savanna areas and cultivated plantations so long as there are trees, but it does not like dense woodland or anywhere lacking access to an open sky. It is even relatively common in urban gardens, sweeping through, oblivious to humans, in search of a tasty meal.
The birds have a typical sparrowhawk appearance and the classic flap-flap-glide style of flying. They predate rodents, including squirrels, small reptiles and insects. They will seek out flying termites emerging from a mound and hunt at night to catch bats. They will even tackle much larger bird species such as partridges.
The name shikra comes from the Hindi word shikaaree and the Urdu word shikari, both of which mean hunter, and this reflects the role these raptors have played in Indian and Pakistani falconry where they are trained to bring their catch back for their larger birds of prey.
Rock Kestrel
This is an African species of kestrel, living in the central and southern countries of the continent. Like other kestrels it will search out its prey by hovering, especially when the windspeeds are high. These are intelligent birds that know how to make the most of a situation. They have been observed following larger animals as they move through grasslands because they disturb tasty insects and make them available to catch. Invertebrates are their preferred food source, although they will take other, smaller birds and rodents.
Hunting is also conducted from perches where they have a clear view of the ground and can descend at speed. They are not fussy if the perch is a rocky outcrop, the roof of a house or a telegraph pole. And they will nest in a wide range of places – ledges, other birds’ disused nests, farm buildings, even hanging baskets. These birds are masters at exploitation.
Nankeen Kestrel
Australia is not left out of the roll call of countries that host small raptors. Wherever there is land that is not too densely vegetated, whether it is a tropical environment or desert, the nankeen kestrel has made its home. It also inhabits the island of New Guinea and its satellites, and occasionally New Zealand. Birds in the more temperate areas, around farm lands, tend to stay put year-round, while those in the more arid regions are forced to move from place to place, following their prey as it gets scarce in the height of summer.
Like a typical kestrel, the nankeen employs a mixture of hovering and perching in search of insects and rodents. Its curious name is said to come from nankeen cloth, a 19th century pale yellow cotton cloth that originated from Nanking in China, because its colouring resembled the underparts of the birds’ plumage.
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