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GrasslandScrapeLarge · 961 g
ID tip
The saker falcon is a large hierofalcon, larger than the lanner falcon and almost as large as gyrfalcon at 45–57 cm (18–22 in) length with a wingspan of 97–126 cm (38–50 in). Males weigh between 730–990 g (26–35 oz) and females 970–1,300 g (34–46 oz). It resembles a larger but browner Gyrfalcon. It is larger and more heavily built than the related Lanner Falcon. Saker falcons tend to have variable plumage. Males and females are similar, except in size, as are young birds, although these tend to be darker and more heavily streaked. The call is a sharp kiy-ee or a repeated kyak-kyak-kyak.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Saker Falcon
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 9 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is August, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Saker Falcon
The map shades 13 countries with regular records, and 10 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium, Czechia, Türkiye, Ethiopia, Italy, Norway, Finland.
About the Saker Falcon
The saker falcon is a large falcon species. It breeds from Central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is a partial migrant, which means that some part of the population is migratory, some part is not. In Europe, for example, a part of the juveniles are migrating, while adults are mostly resident. The European and West Asian migratory sakers spend the winter in the Sahel region. On migration, they cross the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Pakistan, where they are exposed to illegal trapping. The migratory birds to the east from Altai Mountains spend the winter in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Mauritius KestrelFalco punctatusIt can reach a size between 26 and 30.5 cm (10.2 and 12.0 in).
Banded KestrelFalco zoniventrisThe banded kestrel is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae.
Seychelles KestrelFalco araeusIt is the smallest of the kestrels, 18–23 cm long with a wingspan of 40–45 cm.
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