Falco amurensis
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern and East African coasts.
Males are characteristically dark sooty grey above with rufous thighs and vent. In flight, the wing lining is white, contrasting with the dark wing feathers. Adult males of the closely related red-footed falcon have a dark grey wing lining. In Africa, males can be confused with melanistic Gabar goshawks, but the chestnut on the vent is distinctive. Also, there may be some superficial resemblance to the sooty falcon and the grey kestrel, but those two species both have yellow feet and cere. The wings are long as in most falcons (with a span of 63–71 cm) and at rest the wing tip reaches or extends just beyond the tail-tip.
Females can be more difficult to identify as they share a pattern common to many falcons, but are distinctive in having an orange eye-ring, a red cere and reddish orange feet. Juveniles can be confused only with those of the red-footed falcon, but lack the buffy underwing coverts.
The Amur falcon... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulaanbaatar | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 2 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Shijiazhuang | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Wuhan | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Nanjing | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 10 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Falcon sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 89th most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Falcon in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and June–November, the lowest months. That is one of Golden Gate Highlands National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 15 mm in June. March has too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Amur Falcon sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Amur Falcon sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Amur Falcon is recorded against all the birds logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
