Spot-winged Falconet

The spot-winged falconet is 25 to 31 cm (9.8 to 12 in) long and weighs 149 to 249 g (5.3 to 8.8 oz); females average about 8% heavier than males. Its wingspan is 47 to 58 cm (19 to 23 in) The sexes are alike, and juveniles have the same plumage as adults. The species is stocky with shortish wings and a fairly long tail. Their head, back, and wings are grayish brown with white spots on the wings and shoulders and a white rump. They have a pale supercilium that extends onto the neck. They have black ear coverts and a narrow black "moustache". Their throat is white, their breast, flanks, and upper belly are grayish with narrow brown streaks, and their lower belly is white. Their central tail feathers are dark and the rest dark with white bars and tips. Their iris is pale yellow, their cere and lores are rich yellow, and their legs and feet cream to yellow.

The spot-winged falconet is found from Bolivia's Santa Cruz Department south through Paraguay into Argentina as far south as Río Negro Province. Sight records in Uruguay unconfirmed by photographs or specimens lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to treat it as hypothetical in that country. The spot-winged falconet inhabits the Gran Chaco in mostly-open landscapes such as savanna and semi-arid woodlands; all are characterized by scrub with scattered trees. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 750 m (2,500 ft) but is believed to be most numerous between 100 and 500 m (300 and 1,600 ft).

The spot-winged falconet's hunting techniques have not been fully described, but it is known to still-hunt from a perch. Its diet includes insects of many orders, lizards, small mammals, and birds as large as the rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) and monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus).