Appearance:

Smallest falcon. Male with slate grey upperparts, and pinkish buff, speckled underparts . Female dark brown above and heavily speckled below. Due to the extensive markings, the underparts give a darker impression than in Kestrel. Tail of female with dark broad bands, tail of male with broad black terminal band. Diffuse facial markings. Short wings. Silhouette similar to Peregrine, but the much faster wing beats are diagnostic. Acrobatic flight with sharp twist and turns when chasing prey. Alternating glides and bursts of wing-beats gives undulating flight.

Sound:

Series of harsh "kwik-wik wik". Coarseness similar to Peregrine, but pace much quicker. Female call harsher than male. Lacking the clearer tones and attack of Kestrel.

Alarm call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-sound:Thijs Fijen, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Diagnostic flight profile with rectangular, uniformly broad and deeply fingered wings. Long neck and short, wedge-shaped tail. Bill very heavy and tarsus unfeathered. Adults with pale, yellowish head and white tail. Juveniles uniformly brown with dark tail. Females bigger than males. Flight pattern: Long sequences of shallow wing-beats, and only limited glides (as opposed to Golden Eagle).

Sound:

A sharp high-pitched clear "klyytt klyytt klyytt klyytt" is often heard. Uttered with some variation in pitch and timbre. Sometimes more raucous and not so high pitched.

Contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Martin Miethke,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license