[order] FALCONIFORMES | [family] Falconidae | [latin] Falco jugger | [authority] Gray, 1834 | [UK] Laggar Falcon | [FR] Faucon laggar | [DE] Laggarfalke | [ES] Halcon Yaggar | [NL] Laggarvalk
Subspecies
Genus | Species | subspecies | Region | Range |
Falco | jugger | OR | Pakistan to Burma, India |
Genus
Members of the genus falco are mostly medium-sized falcons, but vary from the large peregrine falcon to the small American kestrel. The wings are long and pointed and used almost continuously during flight. The bill is short, powerful, and with a distinct ‘tooth’ on each side. Most falcons of this group have a black teardrop-shaped ‘mustache’ mark on each side of the head. Falcons are fastflying birds of open country and are famous for attaining high speeds as they dive from high altitudes to knock birds out of the air.
Physical charateristics
In the field, the Lugger Falcon appears smaller than the Saker Falcon and has plain central tail feathers, a dark rufous and black crown and a noticeable moustachial streak. It can be distinguished from the Peregrine Falcon by nearly white plumage below, spotted, but not barred black.
wingspan min.: | 95 | cm | wingspan max.: | 115 | cm |
size min.: | 38 | cm | size max.: | 46 | cm |
incubation min.: | 29 | days | incubation max.: | 31 | days |
fledging min.: | 0 | days | fledging max.: | 0 | days |
broods: | 1 | eggs min.: | 2 | ||
eggs max.: | 5 |
Range
Oriental Region : Pakistan to Burma, India. Falco jugger occurs in the Indian Subcontinent from extreme south-east Iran, south-east Afghanistan, and Pakistan, through India (from the Himalayan foothills south to northern Kerala and northern Tamil Nadu), Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar.
Habitat
It is mostly found from sea-level to 1,000 m in dry open woodland and open country with scattered trees
Reproduction
They nest in abandoned nests of crows and the tree holes. The clutch consists of three to five eggs. Incubation takes from 29 to 31 days and done by both parents. The nuptial display is spectacular with mutual soaring, rpadi pursuits and diving action.
Feeding habits
Its main food is birds, lizards, small gound mammals and insects. Birds, up to the size of a pigeon or a crow, predominate, and these are taken on the wing or occasionally from the ground, as are insects. Lizards and mammals are taken on the ground, although there are reports of the bird stooping at a wall, turning at the last minute and snatching a lizard from the surface as it did so.
Video Laggar Falcon
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PgaMhRGdHE
copyright: Ram Gopal Soni
Conservation
Trends in this species’s population are poorly documented, however it is thought to be undergoing a moderately rapid population reduction, both owing to pesicide use and incidental capture by trappers targetting Saker Falcon Falco cherrug.
Declines have been noted in Pakistan and north-west India, perhaps from spreading cultivation and pesticides, and the species is scarce in Nepal and Bangladesh. In Pakistan at least, the species is threatened by trapping for Saker Falcons Falco cherrug (Laggar Falcons themselves are apparently not prized for falconry). The main threat, given the presumed susceptibility of the species to pesticides, is the intensification of pesticide use in the region (e.g. a seven-fold increase in pesticide use in Pakistan between 1981 and 1992).
Declines have been noted in Pakistan and north-west India, perhaps from spreading cultivation and pesticides, and the species is scarce in Nepal and Bangladesh. In Pakistan at least, the species is threatened by trapping for Saker Falcons Falco cherrug (Laggar Falcons themselves are apparently not prized for falconry). The main threat, given the presumed susceptibility of the species to pesticides, is the intensification of pesticide use in the region (e.g. a seven-fold increase in pesticide use in Pakistan between 1981 and 1992).
Migration
Pairs reside in one locality and do not migrate