Mauritius kestrel
Falco punctatus Temminck, 1821
The mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) is a species in the family Falconidae, order Falconiformes. Recorded adults weigh 143 g to 196 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the mauritius kestrel
- Weight
- 143 g – 196 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 49 cm – 56 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the mauritius kestrel?
Where does the mauritius kestrel live?
Not recorded
What is the mauritius kestrel?
The Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines. It is the most distinct of the Indian Ocean kestrels. It colonized its island home to evolve into a distinct species probably during the Gelasian (Late Pliocene). It is the most distant living species among the western Indian Ocean kestrels.
In 1974 the Mauritius kestrel was close to extinction, with only five or possibly six known birds, including two in captivity and a solitary breeding female. In 1985, numbers were estimated to have increased slightly in the wild, but it remained critically endangered at fewer than 15 individuals.
After considerable pioneering conservation efforts by Carl G. Jones and Abdool Wahab Owadally the numbers had increased to circa 400 birds in 2019. This conservation achievement is regarded as one of the most successful and best documented bird restoration projects in the world. It was proclaimed the national bird of Mauritius in March 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Mauritius.
From the Wikipedia article “Mauritius kestrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritius_kestrel&oldid=1368247538), 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 mauritius kestrel endangered?
The mauritius kestrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- 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 Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the mauritius kestrel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderFalconiformes
- familyFalconidae
- genusFalco
- SpeciesFalco punctatus Temminck, 1821
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- عوسق موريشيوسArabic
- عاسوق موريشيوسArabic
- Маврицийска ветрушкаBulgarian
- xoriguer de l'illa MauriciCatalan
- Xoriguer de l'illa de MauriciCatalan
- poštolka mauricijskáCzech
- cudyll coch MauritiusWelsh
- Comorer TårnfalkDanish
- MauritiustårnfalkDanish
- MauritiusfalkeGerman
- Mauritius-FalkeGerman
- maŭricia falkoEsperanto
- Maŭricia turfalkoEsperanto
- Cernícalo de MauricioSpanish
- Cernícalo de la MauricioSpanish
- Cernícalo de Las MauricioSpanish
- mauritiuse tuuletallajaEstonian
- دلیجه موریسPersian
- mauritiuksentuulihaukkaFinnish
- Faucon de MauriceFrench
- Crécerelle de l'Ile MauriceFrench
- Crécerelle de MauriceFrench
- Faucon de l'Ile MauriceFrench
- בז מאוריציוסHebrew
- mauricijska vjetrušaCroatian
- mauritiusi vércseHungarian
- Gheppio di MauritiusItalian
- モーリシャスチョウゲンボウJapanese
- Маврикийдин тӀегъерхъанLezghian
- mauricinis pelėsakalisLithuanian
- Maurīcijas piekūnsLatvian
- Bitsįʼ Yishtłizhii Tónteeldę́ę́ʼ giní dootłʼizhíNavajo
- MauritiustorenvalkDutch
- Mauritiaanse torenvalkDutch
- pustułka maskareńskaPolish
- Falcão-das-mauríciasPortuguese
- francelho-da-mauríciaPortuguese
- francelho-das-maurícioPortuguese
- peneireiro-das-mauríciasPortuguese
- Маврикийская пустельгаRussian
- sokol bodkavýSlovak
- Mauricijska vetruškaSerbian
- mauritiusfalkSwedish
- Morityus KerkeneziTurkish
- Mauritius kerkeneziTurkish
- СокілUkrainian
- боривітер маврикійськийUkrainian
- Cắt MauritiusVietnamese
- 模里西斯隼Chinese
- 毛里求斯隼Chinese
- 毛里裘斯隼Chinese
Relatives of the mauritius 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
CompareMauritius kestrel vs Peregrine falconMauritius kestrel vs Common kestrelMauritius kestrel vs Eurasian hobbyMauritius kestrel vs Merlin
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mauritius kestrel?
An adult mauritius kestrel weighs 143 g – 196 g and has a wingspan of 49 cm – 56 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mauritius kestrel endangered?
The mauritius kestrel is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the mauritius kestrel?
The mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) 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).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mauritius-kestrel
“Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mauritius-kestrel.
@misc{mauritius_kestrel_2026,
title = {Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mauritius-kestrel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}