EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Aplomado of the Atacama

Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis), Family Falconidae
Atacama Desert, Chile

Explanation:  This beautiful denizen of arid environments is an Aplomado Falcon.  The species is widespread in much of South and Central America, including Mexico, and barely ranges into Texas and southwest U.S. 

Once more common in desert grasslands, this beautiful raptor is now listed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species in the U.S.  The listed form is the Northern Aplomado Falcon subspecies, Falco femoralis septentrionalis, threatened mostly by habitat degradation.

The photos here are likely of subspecies pichinchae, found from northern South American to northern Chile where I took these photos in the Atacama Desert region.   
  

Northern forms of Aplomado Falcons have white breasts,
whereas southern forms such as shown here have
cinnamon-colored breasts.

We discovered this bird inhabiting a rocky, dry canyon area of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.  Although the habitat seemed inhospitable, apparently enough avian and other prey is available.