The sooty falcon (Falco concolor) is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region. The word sooty means to be covered in soot (ash), and is used to describe the color of the Sooty Falcon. Hence, the falcon gets its name from its color, the color of soot. Taxonomy The Sooty Falcon is part of the order Falconiformes, family Falconidae and genus Falco. The sooty falcon belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. Eleonora's falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem to be close sister species. Description This is an elegant bird of prey, 32–37 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. It is shaped like a large hobby or a small Eleonora's falcon, with its long pointed wings, long tail and slim body. The adults are blue-grey, and lack the black underwing coverts of the Eleonora's falcon. The young bird is like a large juvenile hobby, or small juvenile Eleanora's falcon. Its dark trailing edge to the wings and tail distinguish it from the former species, and it lacks the underwing contrast caused by the dark coverts of the larger falcon. Distribution and habitat This species is distributed across Southwest Asia and North Africa. This species breeds on islands and coastal or desert cliffs from Libya to Pakistan). It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in east Africa and south to Madagascar and south-eastern South Africa. Increasingly regular sightings and a lack of historical records suggests that the wintering range has expanded south in recent decades. It is a rare vagrant north of its breeding range. Ecology Diet The sooty falcon eats mainly birds (e.g. Sandgrouse), but it will take large insects, such as dragonflies, which are transferred from talons to beak and eaten in flight. They have also been known to eat lizards and crabs. During their breeding season they exclusively feed on small birds. Hunting behaviour During winter the falcons hunt alone, in groups or even as flocks of up to 15 individuals. These hunting flocks tend to perch on trees and feed on swarming insects. During the breeding, summer, season males do the majority of the hunting. Four hunting techniques are employed: (1) Diving from a perch. The falcons spot prey from their perch and then dive bomb and