Fox kestrel
Falco alopex (Heuglin, 1861)
The fox kestrel (Falco alopex) is a species in the family Falconidae, order Falconiformes. Recorded adults weigh 273.9 g to 275 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the fox kestrel
- Weight
- 273.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 76 cm – 88 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.4 – 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the fox kestrel?
Where does the fox kestrel live?
Not recorded
What is the fox kestrel?
The fox kestrel (Falco alopex) is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is found in arid, open country in the northern part of Sub-Saharan Africa.
From the Wikipedia article “Fox kestrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fox_kestrel&oldid=1341647485), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the fox kestrel endangered?
The fox kestrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the fox kestrel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderFalconiformes
- familyFalconidae
- genusFalco
- SpeciesFalco alopex (Heuglin, 1861)
Synonyms Cerchneis alopex deserticola, Cerchneis alopex eremica, Falco alopex alopex, Falco alopex deserticola, Falco alopex eremica, Tinnunculus alopex
Other names and names in other languages (42)
- FOKEEnglish
- Lesser kestrelEnglish
- عوسق الثعلبArabic
- SɛgɛbilenBambara
- Лисичи соколBulgarian
- xoriguer guineuerCatalan
- poštolka rezaváCzech
- cudyll melyngochWelsh
- RævefalkDanish
- FuchsfalkeGerman
- vulpofalkoEsperanto
- Halcón ZorroSpanish
- Cernícalo ZorroSpanish
- Cernícalo zorrunoSpanish
- Halcón ZorrunoSpanish
- rebas-tuuletallajaEstonian
- دلیجه روباهPersian
- isotuulihaukkaFinnish
- Faucon renardFrench
- Crécerelle renardFrench
- Pocaire seannaighIrish
- בז שועלHebrew
- riđorepa vjetrušaCroatian
- rókavércseHungarian
- Gheppio volpinoItalian
- キツネチョウゲンボウJapanese
- СикӀрен тӀегъерхъанLezghian
- lapinis sakalasLithuanian
- VosvalkDutch
- revefalkNorwegian
- pustułka rdzawaPolish
- francelho-vulpinoPortuguese
- peneireiro-vulpinoPortuguese
- Лисья пустельгаRussian
- sokol lišacíSlovak
- Lisičja vetruškaSerbian
- rävfalkSwedish
- Tilki KerkeneziTurkish
- боривітер рудийUkrainian
- Cắt cáoVietnamese
- 狐色隼Chinese
- 大黄眼隼Chinese
Relatives of the fox kestrel
Other species in the same genus Falco.
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
Common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian hobby
Falco subbuteo
Merlin
Falco columbarius
Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
Red-footed falcon
Falco vespertinus
CompareFox kestrel vs Peregrine falconFox kestrel vs Common kestrelFox kestrel vs Eurasian hobbyFox kestrel vs Merlin
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the fox kestrel?
An adult fox kestrel weighs 273.9 g and has a wingspan of 76 cm – 88 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the fox kestrel endangered?
The fox kestrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the fox kestrel?
The fox kestrel (Falco alopex) belongs to the family Falconidae in the order Falconiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Fox kestrel (Falco alopex). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fox-kestrel
“Fox kestrel (Falco alopex).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fox-kestrel.
@misc{fox_kestrel_2026,
title = {Fox kestrel (Falco alopex)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fox-kestrel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}