Sooty Falcon

Falco concolor

Sheryas aswad

Near threatened.

This bird – which has a long tail and slim body – is a summer visitor to the islands off Abu Dhabi but it has also been known to migrate as far as Madagascar. It is particularly suited to the region, because it usually breeds in mountainous desert areas with 

Human disturbance, persecution and predation.

The Sooty falcon breeds from northeast Africa to eastern Arabia and winters in Madagascar and southeast Africa.

The sooty falcon is one of the most endangered species in Abu Dhabi, and EAD undertakes monitoring of this species to better understand its trends in numbers and what actions to take when numbers decline. Our annual assessment results reveal that the Sooty falcon has only three breeding pairs in the emirate; however, successful breeding was recorded at two nesting sites in Abu Dhabi.