Titel: possible Amur Falcon in Belgium
Beskrivelse: I spotted this Falcon on 19th aug 2009 at 7.30 pm while photographing House Martins in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium.
It looked a bit strange in flight with a jizz between Hobby and Peregrine.
I prefered to took some pictures than to watch it with my binoculars.
The bird only passed by from east to west and was soon against the sunlight.
Wingbeats were slower than Hobby, quite like a peregrine but lighter.
I've only 2 "usable" photographs. I boosted the contrast of these pictures.
One can "clearly" notice:
- a falcon with longish wings, not so pointed than a Hobby et a particularly long tail and a quite proeminent head recalling Kestrel in shape.
- a dark mask round the eye without real moustache like a Red-footed Falcon
- reddish legs
- pâle unmarked undertail coverts
- undertail quite strongly barred
- white throat with well delimited breast and body, whithish and strongly barred/spotted
- front seems paler than crown which looks greyish
- and importantly, withish underwing coverts, lightly spotted, contrasting with darker remiges.
I think that the species which best fits these elements is Amur Falcon - Falco amurensis, possibly a second calendar-year female but I lack documentation on this plumage.
I saw this species in China several years ago and remember that we found its jizz intermediate between hobby and peregrine rather than like Falco vespertinus
Any comments welcome
Jean-Sébastien Rousseau-Piot
Belgium
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