Amur falcon

Description

The Falcon Amur ( Falco amurensis Radde,1863 ) is a bird falconiforme the family of Falconidae.It breeds in southeastern Siberia and northern China and winters in southern Africa.Its diet consists largely of insects,especially termites.In the scientific name the word "amurensis" refers to the mouth of the Amur river where it was first cataloged.The males are characterized by a sooty dark brown plumage and can be easily mistaken for melanic specimens of goshawk gum,but the brown color of the undertail should avoid any confusion between the species.They also present some superficial similarities with the sooty hawk and the gray kestrel,but both of these species have the feet and the yellow beak wax.It is easier to distinguish a male from the Amur falcon than that of a cuckoo falcon,given that this species has the coverts of the white and not uniformly gray sub-wings.Females,on the other hand,create much more confusion for their identification,given that they have the color of the head typical of a wide range of hawks.The gray on the top of the head,however,should rule out any confusion with the cuckoo falcon.Presents a series of striations on the lower part of the belly.The red color of the wax and the feet,however,is typical only of this species.As for the young,the red feet could create some confusion with the young of the cuckoo hawk,but the top of the head of darker color and the chamois feathers not extended to the whole belly differentiate them from the latter.The females and the young do not have the coveralls of the suede-colored sub-layer like the cuckoo hawks.