Abstract
Abstract The diet of the Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) was studied at Akrotiri Peninsula, Cyprus, in October 2008, during the autumn migration. Based on 180 pellets collected that represented 3,066 prey items, the diet consisted exclusively of invertebrates, nearly all preys were insects. Winged ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) formed 94% of the diet by number of specimens and 76% of biomass. Beetles (Coleoptera), mainly Carabidae and Scarabaeidae, made up 5% of the prey numbers but 22.5% of biomass. The other preys were made up by small numbers of earwigs (Dermaptera), true bugs (Hemiptera) and snails (Gastropoda).
Highlights
The Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) is a small, gregarious, migratory falcon breeding in Eastern Europe, East to Central Asia and wintering in Southern Africa
Red-footed Falcons stay and hunt in the peninsula in the extensive citrus plantations, open irrigated fields sown with clover and fallow areas in the vicinity of the wetlands
Winged ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) made up 94% of the prey item abundance and 76% of the biomass
Summary
The Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) is a small, gregarious, migratory falcon breeding in Eastern Europe, East to Central Asia and wintering in Southern Africa. Red-footed Falcons stay and hunt in the peninsula in the extensive citrus plantations, open irrigated fields sown with clover and fallow areas in the vicinity of the wetlands. Winged ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) made up 94% of the prey item abundance and 76% of the biomass.
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