The Amur Falcon: A Little Bird with a Giant Heart
- Teju Vishwamitra
- Jan 19
- 2 min read
12” long, weighs 100-188g and flies 2,000 miles! This is the Amur falcon.
The Amur falcon's migration is an epic journey from its breeding grounds in Siberia, Mongolia and Northeast China to its wintering grounds in Southern Africa. It is the longest raptor ocean crossing with a major stopover in Nagaland, India, to fuel up on termites before flying across the Arabian Sea. Its southbound route goes through India and over the Arabian sea, while its northbound spring migration takes a different, faster route over the ocean from Africa to India.
This little raptor’s marathon flights consists of flying nearly 621.4 miles (1,000 km) per day, with some individuals flying 1,864 miles (3,000 km) across India and the Arabian Sea in just 76 hours as part of their migration from Northeast India to East Africa!
This feat highlights the incredible endurance capacity of this small bird for long, nonstop oceanic crossings. Scientists and ornithologists in India as well as villagers in far off places study and protect these magnificent birds. They are excellent for ecotourism.
Conservation Success in India
From Hunters to Protectors: Communities in Manipur and Nagaland in India, who once hunted these falcons, now protect them, celebrating their annual migration.
Community-Led: These local efforts have turned former hunting grounds into safe havens, crucial for the falcons' survival during their extreme migration.
The Journey's Challenge
Ocean Crossing: The Arabian Sea segment is the most dangerous, requiring a nonstop flight of thousands of kilometers with no place to rest, feed, or escape.
Fueling Up: Before this arduous journey, the falcons gorge on termites to build fat reserves, which fuel their entire oceanic crossing
The Internation Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the status for this raptor as "Least Concern," indicating an overall abundance despite regional threats.
The Amur falcon’s morphological characteristics are as follows:
Males: Dark grey above, with distinctive rufous (chestnut) thighs and vent, white wing linings, and orange eye-ring, cere, and feet.
Females: Darker grey back with a spotted chest and vent, also featuring orange eye-rings, cere, and feet.
Size: A small falcon, weighing around 100-188 grams with a wingspan of 63-71 cm (about 25-28 inches).
DID YOU KNOW?
The Amur falcon facts:
Long-Distance Travelers: They breed in East Asia (Mongolia, Russia, China) and winter in Southern Africa, covering thousands of miles (kilometers).
Giant Flocks: Unlike most raptors, they gather in huge flocks during migration and communal roosts, sometimes with Lesser Kestrels, numbering tens of thousands. Incredible!
Ocean Crossing: They undertake the longest regular overwater migration of any bird of prey, aided by monsoon winds, flying over the Indian Ocean.
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