Falco femoralis septentrionalis

Distinguished from other subspecies (pichinchae and femoralis to south) by different dimensions, by the configuration of the abdominal bands, and by plumage coloration (Matthews and Moseley 1990).

Occurs mainly in Mexico; uncommon and declining in portions of range; current reintroduction efforts have reestablished this bird as a breeder in the coastal plain of Texas.

F. f. septentrionalis was the only subspecies (of 3) recorded to occur in the United States. Historic breeding range: southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas south through Mexico (Tamaulipas, Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Guerrero, Veracruz, Yucatan, and San Luis Potosi) to Guatemala (Pacific slope of Central American cordillera) and Belize. Last verified breeding in the U.S. was in New Mexico in 1952 and in Texas in 1941 and 1995; unconfirmed report from Arizona in the late 1960s (AOU 1983). Occasional sightings occurred throughout the southwestern U.S. from 1950's through early 1980's. Extant in the Chihuahuan desert in northern Mexico and the coastal plain grasslands along the Gulf of Mexico, south to Belize and Guatemala. Reintroductions (initiated in 1978; first wild produced young 1995) in the southern Texas coastal plain have resulted in two stable nesting populations while reintroduction attempts in the Chihuahuan desert of western Texas and southern New Mexico have been unsuccessful (Hunt et al. 2013; USFWS 2014). Current range is expected to exceed 1,000,000 square kilometers based on Hunt et al. (2013).

Cattle grazing has contributed to habitat degradation and large tracts of native grassland have been converted to pasturelands and croplands, thereby further reducing the extent and quality of falcon habitat. (Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department). Persistent, severe drought has impacted portions of the falcon's range (e.g., Chihuahuan Desert) and its impacts are exacerbated by climate change, intensive cattle grazing, and water diversions for irrigated cropland. Additional threats of unknown impact include exposure to agricultural pesticides, increasing spread and abundance of Great-horned Owls, and the growing presence of wind energy on the landscape and its documented impacts on avian communities.