Female/immature Amur Falcons Falco amurensis

South Africa, March 2007

Closely related to the European Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus, the beautiful and agile Amur Falcon breeds in northern Asia and Siberia and winters in southern Africa. After breeding Amurs undertake what is probably the longest regular overwater passage of any raptor when they cross the Indian Ocean between southwestern India and tropical East Africa, a journey of more than 4,000 km which also includes nocturnal flight. Birds arrive in their southern African winter range in November- December and depart again by early May. The Amur is an “elliptical migrant”, and the return route north is largely overland and to the north and west of its southbound route.

In southern Africa, Amurs inhabit moist grasslands - around Suikerbosrand, 40km south-west of Johannesburg for instance - and open areas in woodland and are less common in the semi-arid habitats favored by the (locally much scarcer) Red-foot. It also forages in crop-farming regions - though from personal experience and from talking to SA birders it’s hard to see why the birds are common in some areas yet absent in others that appear to be very similar. They often occur in large flocks, sometimes including Lesser Kestrels, which perch on trees and telephone wires (it’s always worth checking lines of perched Amurs for Lesser Kestrels) and hover over open fields and grasslands. In some areas, roosts may number tens of thousands of birds.

The birds in the photos below are all females/immatures: I photographed them on a visit in March when they outnumbered adult males many times - perhaps because the males had started the journey north earlier (comments welcome)?

For more info have a look at www.globalraptors.org

 

 

 

Note dark cap (pale in Red-foot), light underwing coverts, dark trailing edge (whole wing barred in female European Hobby Falco subbuteo), and barred, dark-tipped tail.

 

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Typical Amur habitat, north of Pretoria

 

 

 

 

 

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All photos copyright Charlie Moores