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711 Featured Specimen
Red-footed falcon

Details

Red-footed falcon

Falco vespertinus

Size
28–34 cm · 130–200 g
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Loose group
Lifespan

A small migratory falcon breeding from eastern Europe to central Asia and wintering in Africa; males are dark with red legs.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
PalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticAfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropical

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

Uses forest-steppe, grassland, wetland edges, and wooded farmland, especially where old nests allow colonial breeding.

Appearance

Males are dark blue-gray with red lower belly and legs. Females have orange heads and underparts, gray wings, and red legs.

Behavior

It often feeds and migrates in groups, catching insects in the air and using old corvid nests for breeding.

Feeding

Large insects dominate, with small birds, lizards, and small mammals also taken. Flying insects are important on wintering grounds.

Reproduction

The species does not build its own nest, laying in old nests of rooks, crows, or magpies. Loose colonies form where sites are suitable.

Notes

Grassland loss, agricultural intensification, and shortage of nest sites have driven rapid decline, so it is listed as Vulnerable.