Falco amurensis
The Amur Falcon (*Falco amurensis*) is a striking small raptor, renowned for its epic migratory journey. Males are predominantly slate-grey with chestnut undertail coverts and thighs, complemented by a vibrant orange-red cere, eye-ring, and feet. Females are more subtly patterned, exhibiting a grey back, pale underparts heavily barred with dark streaks, and a distinctive dark malar stripe contrasting with a pale face; they also share the characteristic reddish bare parts. Juveniles resemble f...
Primarily open grasslands, savanna, open woodlands, and agricultural areas, often near water bodies. Prefers low to moderate elevations during its breeding and wintering ranges.
Almost exclusively insectivorous, feeding primarily on large insects such as termites, locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, and moths. Forages mostly by hawking insects in flight.
Amur Falcons are primarily diurnal, with heightened foraging activity during dawn and dusk when insect prey is abundant. They are known for forming massive communal roosts, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands, especially during migration. Agile aerial hunters, they specialize in hawk...
The Amur Falcon breeds across a vast area of Eastern Siberia, northern China, Mongolia, and North Korea. Its primary wintering grounds span a significant portion of southern Africa, extending from Angola and Namibia in the west, eastward across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, and into Sou...
Least Concern
- Undertakes one of the longest raptor migrations globally, covering up to 22,000 km annually. - Performs an incredible 3,000 km non-stop flight over the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean during its southbound migration. - Millions gather in Nagaland, India, during their autumn migration, forming one ...