Falco vespertinus - Red-footed Falcon
Feather characters. Barbules are rather long (1.7-2.2 mm) and divided into pigmented nodes and partly pigmented (less than 50%) internodes. Slightly thickened nodes (12-14 per mm) are equally distributed along the entire length of barbules, only slightly decreasing in size towards distal end. Villi are absent and internodes are occasionally kinked. Minute prongs are present on distal end of barbules and on both sides of the pennulum.
Field characters. Length 29-31 cm; wingspan 65-75 cm. Weight: male 149 g (130-164), female 182 g (162-197) (Dunning, 1993). A small falcon with long wings which in rest reach nearly to the tip of the tail. Male sooty grey with slightly paler underbody, silvery flight feathers on upperwings and rufous thighs, lower belly and vent. Legs, cere, and bare part around eyes bright red. Female has crown, nape, and underparts rufous buff and back, wing-coverts, and tail blue-grey barred black; chin, throat, rear cheeks and fore-head whitish; eye-patch and moustachial stripe dark. Juvenile resembles young Hobby but with paler upperparts and tail barred more strongly, pale forehead, white sides to the head and black eye-patch, and less boldly marked underparts. Legs, feet, cere, and orbital ring yellow.
Voice. A sharp "chi-chi chi", higher pitched than Kestel.
Distribution. Fairly common summer visitor in the most eastern part of Europe. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. Frequents all kinds of open terrain interspersed with stands of trees, such as steppe and wooded steppe, meadows with scattered bushes, fens or bogs, marshes, orchards, etc.
Food. Hunts by hovering (with less persistence than Kestrel) and dropping onto prey; catches also insects in flight. Feeds almost exclusively on insects, but takes also small mammals (especially voles), lizards, frogs, and small birds.