The Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus)

Falco punctatus is endemic to Mauritius and the island's only bird of prey, is the world's rarest falcon. Its known population had been reduced to two breeding pairs by the early 1970s, when it became the world's rarest bird. It has been studied since 1973, when conservation efforts began to prevent its extinction. Intensive studies revealed that prey includes Phelsuma geckos Although birds were considered the single most important prey, geckos were thought to form 50 percent of the diet, and, during October/November 1981, 94 percent of 218 identified prey items brought to one nest were geckos. The geckos "sharing" their biotope with the kestrel are mainly Phelsuma cepediana, Phelsuma ornata and the threatened species Phelsuma guimbeaui guimbeaui and Phelsuma guimbeaui rosagularis.

In 1994 on the Ile Aux Aigrettes off the coast of Mauritius, in what must have been a frustrating moment of irony for conservationists, a Mauritius kestrel ate a newly hatched offspring of a recently reintroduced pair of Mauritius pink pigeons (Columba mayeri), the world's rarest pigeon. The kestrel was captured and removed to the highland forest of Macchabee on Mauritius, the habitat of Phelsuma guimbeaui rosagularis.