Scientific name: Falco biarmicus Temminck, 1825
Bird group: Birds-of-prey
Field characters. Length 43-52 cm; wingspan 95-115 cm. Upperparts blue-brown, paler on rump and tail; upper tail with dark bars and white tip. Crown and nape pale rufous or sandy; thin black stripe along uppercheeks and thin, black moustachial stripe on white cheeks. Flanks and thighs heavily spotted, rest of white underparts with fewer spots. Underwing pale. Juvenile plain darker brown above with underparts more heavily spotted and streaked than adult.
Voice. Resembles Peregrine Falcon, but higher pitched.
Distribution. Rare resident.
Habitat. Haunts open country ; nests in inaccessible crags and rock faces, sometimes in trees.
Food. Prey caught in the air or on ground after surprise attack. Diet consists mainly of small to medium-sized birds, but it takes also rats, rabbits, bats, lizards, snakes, locusts, and beetles.