Falco amurensis
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Falcon sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 249th most-seen of the 380 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Falcon in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. Those are among Tsavo West National Park's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in July.
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.
6th of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Amur Falcon sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%), Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 10%) and Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Amur Falcon is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (28 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.
