A distinctive aspect of their behaviour is shown in the breeding season when brown falcons make a loud, high pitched, cackle call (like a laying hen) and screeching while in flight.

Animals typically have red-brown heads with narrow black streaks with a light crown and off-white chin.

It also eats small birds, lizards, snakes, and a variety of invertebrates, particularly caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles.

Brown falcons and other Australian firehawks have been said to pick up sticks with flames and dropping them to spread fires and prey on escaping animals.

[4] According to Audubon, "That anecdotal evidence is sourced from personal testimonies by Australian firefighters and aboriginal people, as well as historical literature, and amounts to 14 firsthand narratives of this specific occurrence.