Amur Falcon - Falco amurensis

Amur Falcon

Falco amurensis

Order : Falconiformes

Family : Falconidae ;

Biometrics :

Size : 30 à 36 cm
Wingspan : 65 à 75 cm
Weight : M: 97 à 155 gr - F: 110 à 188 gr

IUCN conservation status :

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

Geographic range :

Synonyms : Амурский кобчик (ru), Amurfalk (sv), Cernícalo del Amur (es), Falco cuculo (it), Amurfalke (al), Amoerroodpootvalk (nl), Amur Falcon (en)

Physical description :
Amur Falcon is a small migratory falcon.
Adult male is dark grey overall, except chestnut vent and white underwing.
Hooked bill is black with orange-red cere. Eyes are dark brown with orange-red eyering. Short, bare legs and weak feet are orange-red.
Female is paler grey on upperparts, barred with dark grey. Underparts are white with dark grey streaks on chest, dark grey bars on lower breast and belly, and pale buff vent. Flight feathers and tail are dark grey, barred above with pale grey, and barred white below. Tail and flight feathers show broad dark tips.
Crown and nape are grey. Forehead is cream. Cheeks and throat are plain white. She has dark eye patch and malar stripe. Bill, eyes, legs and feet as in male.
Juvenile resembles female, browner on upperparts with buffy-edged feathers. Cheeks, throat and underparts are pale buff, with grey-brown streaks on chest and lower breast. Narrower tail is heavily barred with dark.
Cere, legs and feet are pale orange. Dark eye patch and malar stripe are conspicuous

Voice : Amur Falcon utters shrill chattering at roost.

Habitat : Amur Falcon lives in open woodlands and grassy savannahs.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Amur Falcon breeds in south-eastern Siberia and northern China.
It winters in Southern Africa, entering on east coats from India, and returning via Arabia.
This bird performs flights of up to 11.000 km as for breeding or for wintering.

Behaviour : Amur Falcon picks up insects from the ground, or catches them on the wing. It usually hunts at dusk from perch, sometimes on ground, and may hover too. They feed in flocks on termites and ants outside breeding season.
In Africa, they roost in clumps of tall trees, at traditional sites. We can see hundreds to thousands of birds.
They migrate from Asia to Africa in large groups, and sometimes in mixed flocks with other falcons.

Flight : Amur Falcon has light and fast flight. It often hovers while it fans its long, rounded tail.

Reproduction-nesting : Amur Falcon nest as solitary or sometimes in small loose colonies. Nest is often and old corvidae nest or hole in tree.
Female lays 3 to 4 eggs in May-June. Incubation lasts about 28 to 30 days. Young fledge at about one month after hatching.
This species produces one brood per year.

Food habits : Amur Falcon feeds mainly on insects such as termites, grasshoppers and beetles, small birds and sometimes amphibians.

Protection / threats : Amur Falcon populations are common and not threatened.

Other links :
Iucn
Birdlife

Specification sheet created by Nicole Bouglouan

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