CreatureData

Pied falconet

Microhierax melanoleucos (Blyth, 1843)

LCLeast Concernbirds of prey

The pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos) is a species in the family Falconidae, order Falconiformes. Recorded adults weigh 64.2 g to 65 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos)
Photo: Savi.odl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the pied falconet

Weight
64.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
33 cm – 37 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
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 pied falconet?

PIED FALCONET · WINGSPAN 37 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 37 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the pied falconet is about 22% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the pied falconet live?

Not recorded

What is the pied falconet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The pied falconet, (Microhierax melanoleucos) is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae.

It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, and Vietnam.

Its natural habitat is temperate forests.

These raptors belong to the genus Microhierax, which includes the smallest bird of prey species in the world. The pied falconet, also known as the white-legged falconet, nests in old woodpecker cavities. The species is listed as least concern because of its large home range and stable population size.

From the Wikipedia article “Pied falconet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pied_falconet&oldid=1364596432), 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 pied falconet endangered?

The pied falconet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the pied falconet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderFalconiformes
  5. familyFalconidae
  6. genusMicrohierax
  7. SpeciesMicrohierax melanoleucos (Blyth, 1843)

Synonyms Ierax melanoleucos, Microhierax chinensis, Microhierax melanoleucus, Microhierax melanoleucus melanoleucus, Microhierax melanoleucus melanoleucus

Other names and names in other languages (30)
  • صقير أبقعArabic
  • صقير مبرقشArabic
  • falconet blanc i negreCatalan
  • sokolík černobílýCzech
  • Sortkindet PygmæfalkDanish
  • ElsterfälkchenGerman
  • nigrablanka falketoEsperanto
  • Falconete píoSpanish
  • hiina värbpistrikEstonian
  • kantoninhaukkanenFinnish
  • Fauconnet noir et blancFrench
  • crno-bijeli sokolićCroatian
  • tarka verébsólyomHungarian
  • Falchetto bianconeroItalian
  • シロハラヒメハヤブサJapanese
  • raibasis nykštukinis sakalasLithuanian
  • Bonte DwergvalkDutch
  • sløyfefalkonettNorwegian
  • sokolik srokatyPolish
  • falconete-alvinegroPortuguese
  • Сорочий сокол-крошкаRussian
  • Сорочий карликовый соколRussian
  • sokolík čiernolíciSlovak
  • Šareni patuljasti sokoSerbian
  • svartvit pygméfalkSwedish
  • Alaca Cüce DoğanTurkish
  • сокіл-карлик строкатийUkrainian
  • Cắt nhỏ bụng trắngVietnamese
  • 白腿小隼Chinese
  • 白腿小隼〔小隼〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the pied falconet

Other species in the same genus Microhierax.

ComparePied falconet vs Collared falconetPied falconet vs White-fronted falconetPied falconet vs Black-thighed falconetPied falconet vs Philippine falconet

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the pied falconet?

An adult pied falconet weighs 64.2 g and has a wingspan of 33 cm – 37 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the pied falconet endangered?

The pied falconet 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 pied falconet?

The pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pied-falconet

MLA

“Pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pied-falconet.

BibTeX
@misc{pied_falconet_2026,
  title = {Pied falconet (Microhierax melanoleucos)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pied-falconet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}