Lined forest falcon


The lined forest falcon is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is endemic to humid forest in the western and northern Amazon Basin. Populations found in the south-eastern Amazon Basin were formerly included in this species, but were described as a new species, the cryptic forest falcon, in 2003. Together with the plumbeous forest falcon of the Chocó, they are an example of a cryptic species complex. While adults of all three species have the deep orange-red facial skin and cere that separates them from the sympatric barred forest falcon, only the lined forest falcon has two white bars in the tail. The species is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern, indicating that populations are not in decline.

History

Lined forest falcon was not recognized as a distinct species until 1972, when Schwartz separated the special from Barred Forest-Falcon