THE RED-FOOTED FALCON. 



Falco vespertimiSy Linnaeus. 

 Plate 38. 



The Red-footed Falcon, which is closely related to the Kestrel, though 

 resembling in build the Hobby, is a rare and irregular visitor to the British 

 Islands, about forty examples having occurred therein. During summer it inhabits 

 Eastern Europe and Western Asia, migrating in winter as far south as Central 

 Africa. It is sociable in its habits, arriving at its breeding ground in flocks, and 

 a number of nests are often occupied in the same tree. 



The nests are not built by the birds themselves, but are the deserted homes 

 of Rooks, Magpies, or Crows. The eggs, varying in number from four to six, 

 are reddish-yellow, spotted and marked with reddish-brown. 



It is perhaps more insectivorous than any of our Hawks, capturing much of 

 its food on the wing, though it takes grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects on 

 the ground, over which it can run w^ith a nimbleness unusual in birds of prey. 



It is said to be fond of marshy ground, sparsely scattered with timber, and 

 its cry resembles the Hobby's. 



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