---
title: "Malagasy Kestrel"
description: "Falco newtoni — Birds. The Malagasy kestrel (Falco newtoni), also known as the Madagascar kestrel, Malagasy spotted kestrel, Newton's kestrel, Madagascar spotted kestrel, katiti (Creole) or hitsikitsika (Malagasy), is a small bird of prey of the genus Falco."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/malagasy-kestrel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Malagasy Kestrel

> Falco newtoni — Birds. The Malagasy kestrel (Falco newtoni), also known as the Madagascar kestrel, Malagasy spotted kestrel, Newton's kestrel, Madagascar spotted kestrel, katiti (Creole) or hitsikitsika (Malagasy), is a small bird of prey of the genus Falco.

- Scientific name: *Falco newtoni*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 711
- Wikidata: [Q757019](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q757019)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4658](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4658)

## Names

- en: Malagasy Kestrel
- de: Madagaskarfalke
- es: Cernícalo de Madagascar
- fr: Faucon de Newton
- nl: Madagaskartorenvalk
- pl: Pustułka malgaska

## Countries with the most observations

MG (646), SC (14)

## Summary

The Malagasy kestrel (Falco newtoni), also known as the Madagascar kestrel, Malagasy spotted kestrel, Newton's kestrel, Madagascar spotted kestrel, katiti (Creole) or hitsikitsika (Malagasy), is a small bird of prey of the genus Falco. It is named after British ornithologist Edward Newton. It occurs in two subspecies on Madagascar and at Aldabra. The race from Aldabra is also called Aldabra kestrel (Falco newtoni aldabranus). Its closest living relative is the Seychelles kestrel; they were at one time considered conspecific. Their common ancestors appear to have diverged very recently, probably less than 1 million…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_kestrel

## Photo

![Malagasy Kestrel](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/malagasy-kestrel/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67182629

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/malagasy-kestrel?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).