Red-footed falcon Falco vespertinus

Features

When it comes to size, the red-footed falcon belongs to small falcons. Its length is from 28 to 34 cm, and the span of its slender and, towards the end, narrowed wings is from 65 to 76 cm. It keeps to open landscapes with fewer trees and often to the vicinity of settlements.

Species	Bird
Living space	Field, Meadow
Size	28 - 34 cm
Weight	150 g

Description

Red-footed falcons are characterised by marked sexual dimorphism. The females are dark reddish-brown on the underparts of their bodies and on the crowns, with some darker lines on the abdomen. A black line goes over their orange-trimmed eyes, while the throat and the face are white. The yellowish-white back of the head sharply turns into a bluish-grey back, which is distinctly transversely dark-striped. The legs and bases of their beaks are orange, while the rest of their tiny beaks are grey and black. The males look as if wearing an evening dress, all bluish-grey, and the upperparts of their flight feathers are silver-grey. Only the back parts of their abdomens, from red-orange legs to the tail, are rusty brown. The base of the beak and eyes are trimmed with red-orange colour. The red-footed falcon is a migrant which sleeps in the south of Africa. It is a regular guest during migrations, especially in spring, when it can be spotted in larger flocks. It also nests in groups and breeding colonies. The red-footed falcons are the earliest inhabitants of abandoned crows' nests on trees in spacious steppes and open river valleys in the east of Europe and in central and western Asia. The red-footed falcon is a bird of prey, which feeds mainly on insects. Smaller animals, such as rodents, small birds and amphibians, represent only a small portion of their prey.