Kobchik – A Falcon Similar to the Red-footed Falcon

Kobchik – a small-sized falcon

It resembles a kestrel in its proportions and lifestyle but differs from it with its narrow wings. The body length of the bird ranges from 28 to 33 cm, wing length is 23-35 cm, wingspan is from 65 to 77 cm, and weight is between 130 to 197 g. The beak is short and weak.

The male is dark bluish (almost black) with a brick-red underside of the belly, undertail, and "trousers." The female is ochre with a gray back featuring a transverse stripe, wings, and tail, with longitudinal streaks on the belly and black whiskers. Young birds are brownish with a whitish underside in longitudinal streaks. The legs, cere, and ring around the eye of the birds are red or orange, while the young ones have yellow. The claws are whitish-brown. The iris is dark brown.

It feeds almost exclusively on large insects — dragonflies, beetles, grasshoppers, etc. Occasionally, it catches small rodents and lizards. Among birds, it mainly hunts sparrows but can also pursue larger birds like pigeons.

The dietary behavior of the kobchik not only does not harm agricultural crops but, on the contrary, helps to increase yields, as the small falcon actively destroys insects, beetles, and locusts, and does not allow birds that peck at crops into its hunting territory.

They nest in abandoned nests of corvids, sometimes in hollows, niches, or burrows. They can form colonies of up to 100 pairs. They breed late, which is linked to the breeding period of locusts and other large insects.

Kobchiks arrive at nesting sites late, in May, so their mating season begins right at that time.

The female lays from 3 to 6 eggs, which she incubates for a period of 25 to 28 days. During this entire time, the female does not leave the clutch for a minute, while the male takes care of her and brings her food. It is during this period, when the female kobchik is incubating the eggs, that one can hear the song of the male kobchik, which he produces while hunting.

By early July, the kobchik chicks are already fledging, and by mid-August they fly well and can independently find food. Thus, by the time of migration to wintering grounds in Africa, the young birds have already become full-fledged members of the flock and lead an independent life.

They migrate, unlike most falcons, in flocks.

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