SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
179 
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123(1): 179-180, 2011 
First Record of Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) for the West Indies 
Blake A. Mathys 1 
ABSTRACT.—I report the first sighting of Aplo¬ 
mado Falcon (Falco femoralis ) for Puerto Rico and all 
of the West Indies. I observed a single individual at 
Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge (south¬ 
western Puerto Rico) on 15 January 2008; the individual 
stayed until 25 January 2008. Photographs establishing 
the bird’s identity were obtained during prolonged 
periods of observation by several observers. Received 
30 January 2010. Accepted 4 August 2010. 
The Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis) occurs 
from the southern United States, through Central 
America, to Argentina in South America. It is 
generally sedentary, although individuals in the 
extreme northern and southern part of the range 
are partially migratory (Keddy-Hector 2000). It is 
a medium-sized falcon (200 to 500 g), and 
primarily preys on birds and insects, although 
small mammals and reptiles are also taken 
(Keddy-Hector 2000). The Aplomado Falcon 
occurs in open habitats including grasslands, 
savannahs, and prairies. It has not been previously 
recorded on any Caribbean island (excluding 
Trinidad, which is biogeographically South Amer¬ 
ican; Raffaele et al. 1998). I report the first record 
of this species for the West Indies. 
OBSERVATIONS 
I observed an Aplomado Falcon on 15 January 
2008 at Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife 
Refuge (18°0r N, 67'06'W) in southwest 
Puerto Rico. I was observing West Indian 
Whistling Ducks ( Dendrocygna arborea) on the 
southwest side of the refuge. I scanned several 
dead trees for a Peregrine Falcon (Falco pere- 
grinus) that I had regularly seen in the area. At 
1320 hrs (AST) I saw a raptor, smaller than a 
Peregrine, perched in one of the dead trees on the 
northwest shore of the lagoon at a distance of 
^400 m. It was observed through a 60X spotting 
scope. I immediately recognized it as an Aplo¬ 
mado Falcon, due to the long tail, dark vest-like 
1 Natural Sciences and Mathematics, The Richard Stock- 
ton College of New Jersey, P. O. Box 195, Pomona, NJ 
08240, USA; e-mail: Blake.Mathys@stockton.edu 
coloration on the chest, and pronounced light 
stripe over the eye. I was familiar with this 
species, having previously seen multiple individ¬ 
uals in Venezuela and Mexico. It stayed at this 
perch for —25 min, spending most of the time 
preening. I took special care to observe the legs to 
look for bands or jesses, clues to probable captive 
provenance. The left leg was completely free of 
any objects. The bird then flew directly toward 
me, eventually landing in larger trees —65 m to 
the west of the observation tower. I later returned 
to these trees to look for the falcon. It flushed 
from the trees, circling a few times before landing 
again in a tree —10 m from me. I was able to 
closely observe both legs and confirm there were 
no bands or jesses on either. It was also at this 
perch that I obtained the best photographs by 
“digi-scoping” with a four megapixel digital 
camera through the ocular lens of my spotting 
scope (at 20X). The bird flushed and flew to the 
west, and later flew east of the observation tower 
and roosted at the top of a tree. I observed it later 
in the afternoon on the north side of the lagoon 
perched on fence posts and at the tops of trees. 
The Aplomado Falcon was seen frequently over 
the next 10 days, generally on the north side of the 
lagoon. I left Puerto Rico on 20 January, last 
personally seeing the falcon at 1100 hrs on 19 
January. It was well photographed by Mike Morel on 
21 January, and last reported on the morning of 25 
January by Maiia Camacho and Eduardo Ventosa. 
DISCUSSION 
I identified the bird as an Aplomado Falcon 
during the initial observation on 15 January 2008 
as I was familiar with the species in Mexico and 
Venezuela. Peregrine Falcon, Merlin (Falco 
columbarius ), and American Kestrel (F. sparver- 
ius) were observed at Laguna Cartagena on most 
days, and it was immediately obvious due to size 
and well-defined marking that the falcon was not 
any of the expected species. 
Other physically similar falcon species includ¬ 
ing Bat Falcon (F. rufigularis ), Orange-breasted 
Falcon (F. deiroleucus ), and Eurasian Hobby (F. 
