Amur Falcon, by David Bryan
Dave Mansell
Abstract A small falcon, initially thought to be a first-summer male Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus was discovered on 14th September 2008 at Tophill Low nature reserve, in Yorkshire. The bird was in moult during its stay and photographs of it in flight on 15th October revealed white axillaries and some white underwing-coverts, which had not been present when it arrived. These features enabled the bird to be reidentified as an Amur Falcon F. amurensis. The bird was accepted as the first British record of Amur Falcon and added to Category A of the British List. The identification of second-calendar-year Amur Falcon is reviewed, other European records are summarised, and the species’ migration, breeding and wintering ranges are discussed.
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