This falcon bears some resemblance to the African hobby, with which it is often confused; however, the white throat and rufous patches on the nape offer a unique characteristic for identification.

However, because of their cryptic nature and occupancy of rather remote or inaccessible areas, it is difficult to achieve an accurate assessment of this falcon's true conservation status.

The Taita falcon typically nests in cliff holes, protected from direct sunlight (Hartley et al., 1993).

Taita Falcons are very secretive about the positions of the nests and will readily – and viciously – attack other animals that pose as a threat, such as trumpeter hornbills.

[citation needed] Taita falcons are typically hunting small birds mostly caught in habitats close to the nest, such as red-billed queleas, swifts, hirundines and green-spotted doves.

[2] The Batoka Gorge along the Zambezi River by Victoria Falls was historically the core for Taita falcon distribution, where six breeding pairs were identified during surveys in the 1990s.

[citation needed] Tourism and increased air traffic is predicted to be a significant disturbance to raptors along the Batoka Gorge.

Organochlorine pesticide sprays also cause imbalances in invertebrate communities and the insectivorous species that eat them; thus, also the availability of prey for raptors that feed on these insect-eating birds.

[citation needed] Woodland cover decreases with increased rural human settlements and light intensity agriculture and subsistence farming on both sides of Batoka Gorge.

This increase in woodland fragmentation decreases the amount of suitable habitat available to these falcons, thus threatening their conservation status.