Amur Falcon is an Indian bird with a scientific name "Falco amurensis". The bird is a small raptor of the falcon family. They concentrate mainly in East Asia and migrate in a broad front through India.
Breeding Season of Amur Falcon
Amur Falcon breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa. It was earlier treated as a subspecies of the red-footed falcon and known as the eastern red-footed falcon.
Structure of Amur Falcon
The male Amur falcon are dark grey with reddish brown thighs and undertail coverts; reddish orange eye-ring, cere, and feet. Females are duller above with dark scaly markings on white under parts, an orange eye ring, cere, and legs. Only a pale wash of rufous is visible on their thighs and under tail coverts.
Feedings of Amur Falcon
The regular diet of Amur Falcon consists mainly of insects such as termites and during migration over the sea, is thought to feed on migrating dragonflies.
Sexes of Amur Falcon
The males of Amur Falcon are characteristically dark sooty grey above with rufous thighs and vent. In flight the wing lining is white, contrasting with the dark wing feathers. Adult males of the closely related red-footed falcon have a dark grey wing lining. In Africa, males can be confused with melanistic Gabar goshawks but the chestnut on the vent is distinctive. Also there may be some superficial resemblance to sooty falcon and grey kestrel, but those two species both have yellow feet and cere. The wings are long as in most falcons and at rest the wing tip reaches or extends just beyond the tail-tip. The females can be more confusing as they share a pattern common to many falcons but are distinctive in having an orange eye-ring, a red cere and reddish orange feet. Juveniles can be confused only with those of the red-footed falcon but lack the buffy under wing coverts.
Concentration of Amur Falcon
Amur Falcon breeds in east Asia from the Transbaikalia, Amurland, and northern Mongolian region to parts of North Korea. They migrate in a broad front through India, sometimes further east over Thailand and Cambodia and then over the Arabian Sea, sometimes in passage on the Maldives and other islands to reach southern Africa. Birds going over India are thought to be aided by strong winds blowing westward.
