26. Some Cyprus Falcons

 

[Note: Remember to click on the photograph to enlarge the image.]

The Falcons comprise a family of small to medium sized raptors, of which six species are frequently seen on Cyprus. Other species are seen here occasionally as passage migrants (on migration) or as vagrants. October and November are the months when many of the passage migrants are seen as they make their way south, so a good time to keep an eye out for them.

Kestrel

The Kestrel is the most common Falcon in Cyprus. It is resident at Secret Valley, nesting in the fir trees early in the year. The male has a blue-grey head with a small dark moustachial stipe extending down from the eye. The tail of the male is also a pale blue-grey colour, while the female has a red-brown tail with black bars. Both male and female have rufous-brown back and wings with obvious dark spots and black wing tips. The feet are bright yellow, as they are on many of the Falcon species, but the claws are black.

The classic "standing on the wind" of the Kestrel, with fanned tail feathers

Male Kestrel details

The most distinctive feature of the Kestrel is its ability to hover with its tail spread wide (like a fan) as it hunts for prey species on the ground. The normal flight shows rather relaxed wingbeats, unlike many other Falcons that have more rapid shorter wingbeats.

Male Kestrel, stooping on prey. Note the grey tail colour

You may be familiar with the expression "a Kestrel for a Knave' and wondered what it means. The origin of this is thought to date back to  the 15th Century 'Book of St. Albans' when raptors were commonly trained for hunting (the skills of Falconry and Hawking), and particular species were paired with "appropriate" social classes e.g. 'an Eagle for an Emperor', a 'Gyrfalcon for a King', a 'Peregrine for a Prince', all the way down to 'a Kestrel for a Knave' - meaning that the Kestrel was the bird appropriate for the common man. If you have ever read The Once and Future King by T.H White this concept is explored in some depth when Merlin (the magician) transforms the future King Arthur into a bird of prey so that he can spend a night in the Falconry, where he is taught the rules of social status and etiquette by the Peregrine  Falcon - the highest ranking of the Falcons. (N.B. The book is well worth reading!)

                                        Male Kestrel searching at ground level

The distinctive colouring of the adult female Kestrel

Lesser Kestrel

The Lesser Kestrel is very similar in appearance to the Kestrel, but slightly smaller. The male lacks the distinct black spots on the back, and the breast shows only small spots. There is no moustachial stripe. The tail of the adult male is plain grey  but in the juvenile the central grey tail feathers are flanked by the barred colouration, and the central tail feathers extend just beyond those adjacent. The female is very similar in markings to the female Kestrel; they are very hard to tell apart. The feet of both sexes are yellow but with pale claws.

The typical hovering position of the Lesser Kestrel. Note the central grey tail feathers

Lesser Kestrels are passage migrants and tend to congregate together in small flocks when they are frequently seen hovering and hunting together. I often see flocks of about 15-20 Lesser Kestrels hunting at Anarita Park, and they often have the more common Kestrels hunting with them - which can make identification a bit of a challenge. They will stay hovering and soaring at low altitudes for long periods as they feed on aerial insects.

Male Lesser Kestrel, showing fewer and rounder black marks than the Kestrel

Red-footed Falcon

The Red-footed Falcon is a very common passage migrant, less often seen in spring than in the autumn. It often feeds in groups, like the Lesser Kestrel, though often in larger numbers. It is most often seen over farms, agricultural land, cereal fields, meadows and grassy foothills. As the photos below show, I most often see them perched on power lines.

Red-footed Falcon in rapid flight

Female (top) and juvenile (bottom) Red-footed Falcons

The male is a uniform slate-grey colour but with the distinctive red feet (from which it is named), thighs and undertail feathers. The female also has grey wings, back and tail colouring, though with black barring. Her head and breast are a pale yellowish-brown but with white markings around the throat. The juvenile has brown and grey back, tail and wings, a streaked cream and brown front and the white colouring of the female around the throat.

Male Red-footed Falcon finishing a snack

Eleanora's Falcon

This striking falcon is a migrant to Cyprus but breeds here annually during its usual period of residence between April and November, principally along the cliffs of the southern coast. 

Eleanora's Falcon, light morph

Eleanora's Falcon, dark morph

It has long wings and tail, but there are two colour variants (morphs). The adult light (pale) morph has white cheeks and throat markings with a short black moustachial stripe. The wings  and tail are very dark but the front is a reddish brown with black streaks. The dark morph (about 25% of the population) is a uniform blackish-brown, which makes the white eye-ring stand out.

Eleanora's Falcon, dark morph, feeding on the wing

Eleanora's Falcon, pale morph, on a favourite perch at Kensington Cliffs

The Eleanora's Falcon often hunts in flocks, especially at dusk, when it catches insects in flight, showing impressive aeronautical acrobatics as the birds hover and stoop. They are a common sight at Kensington cliffs (Episkopi) where most of the above photos were taken.

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine is a breeding resident here in Cyprus, but we also receive passage migrants and winter visitors. It is most often seen in steep valleys and foothills, over farmland, forests and salt marshes. It generally breeds on coastal and inland cliffs and escarpments - and occasionally nowadays on high masts and pylons.

A pair of Peregrine Falcon in a favourite roosting spot at Episkopi 

The Peregrine is one of the larger Falcons, being quite stocky with a relatively short tail and broad-based, sharply tapering wings. The female is larger than the male. Both adults have a black crown and bold moustachial stripe, white throat and cheeks, and a white front with black barring. The back is slate grey. The juvenile is creamy (rather than white) and streaked (rather than barred) on the front, and the upper parts and head are brownish-grey rather than slate grey.

Juvenile Peregrine, preparing to take off

Peregrines feed very largely on smaller birds. During the WWII many hundreds of Peregrines were shot in the UK, and their nests destroyed in an attempt to stop them feeding on homing pigeons. Their numbers were severely affected and, after the war, the numbers were further reduced almost to extinction by the impact of organochlorine pesticides. However numbers started to recover by the 1990's and the start of the millennium, and they are now thriving - particularly in urban environments where high buildings and structures are actually aiding their survival. A recent study in the UK has shown that urban Peregrines have been known to kill well over a hundred different species of birds - including ducks, gulls and parakeets!

Peregrines can survive almost anywhere and are the world's most widespread raptor. Wherever they live they use the same ruthlessly efficient killing technique, chasing down their prey in breathtaking dives, or stoops. They truly live up to their top status in the falconry!

Other Falcons seen on Cyprus

There are a number of other Falcons that visit Cyprus, mostly as passage migrants or as vagrants, but which I unfortunately have no pictures to show. These are:

    Merlin - a scarce winter passage migrant. The smallest Falcon in the region.

    Amur Falcon - a vagrant, small Falcon resembling the Red-footed Falcon.

    Hobby - Common passage migrant and a common breeding visitor.

    Sooty Falcon - a vagrant not commonly seen, with habits very similar to Eleanora's. Slightly larger than a Hobby.

    Lanner Falcon - A larger vagrant species, the size of a Peregrine, frequently used for hunting in some             Middle East cultures.

    Saker Falcon - a scarce passage migrant, regularly seen at Akrotiri and Cape Greco. A large species, again often used for hunting.

                                                                                                                                27 October 2021

All Photographs by Trevor Fordham