Sooty Falcon (11th record for Kuwait, Oct. 2013)
Sooty Falcon
Sooty Falcon
Sooty Falcon
Sooty Falcon (EGYPT)
Scientific Name 
Falco concolor
Arabic Name 
الصقر الأسخم
Kuwaiti name 
صقر
Family 
Width 
85.0 cm
Length 
38.0 cm
Near Threatened

Information

Vagrant, primarily in spring and autumn. A migrating falcon, wintering in eastern Africa and south to Madagascar. In summer it breeds on cliffs, rocky islets and desert mountains mostly in north-eastern Africa and Arabia.
Where in Kuwait 
A rare species in Kuwait with only 11 confirmed records to date during both Spring and Autumn passage and almost all of single birds near the coast.
In the world 
A Near Threatened species because it is suspected to have a moderately small and declining population. It breeds colonially in hot, arid environments; on cliffs, small rocky islands and rugged desert mountains where its breeding is timed to coincide with the autumn migration of small birds on which it feeds. With respect to the Middle East it breeds on islands and coasts of north-west and south-west Saudi Arabia and north-west Yemen, south Jordan and Bahrain, as well as islands in the Persian Gulf from Qatar to Oman, the United Arab Emirates.At the end of the breeding season, the majority of the population overwinters in Madagascar, although a small proportion migrates to coastal Mozambique and eastern parts of South Africa
Local threats 
Indiscriminate shooting and trapping