Falco Amurensis
These beautiful kestrel-like falcons grace us wIth their presence every summer. They are often found in flocks, sitting on telephone wires or hovering above open fields or grasslands, hoping to find suitable prey items below.
Besides their obvious beauty they are also noteworthy for their epic journeys. These small birds of prey travel from their breeding grounds in Russia and India all the way to South Africa. (A single bird was recorded to have flown 15 000 kilometres without a break.)
We first recorded this species in January 2010 while visiting the Central Drakensberg, but they are common through much of eastern South Africa.