The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large falcon species. It breeds from Central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is a partial migrant, which means that some part of the population is migratory, some part is not. In Europe, for example, a part of the juveniles are migrating, while adults are mostly resident. The European and West Asian migratory sakers spend the winter in the Sahel region. On migration, they cross the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Pakistan, where they are exposed to illegal trapping. The migratory birds to the east from Altai Mountains spend the winter in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The saker falcon is the second fastest bird in level flight after the white-throated needletail swift (unconfirmed), capable of reaching . It is also the third fastest animal in the world overall after the peregrine falcon and the golden eagle, with all three species capable of executing high speed dives known as "stooping", approaching . The saker falcon is the national bird of Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, and Mongolia. It is called by Arabs Hur, i.e., "Free-bird", and it has been used in falconry in the Arabian Peninsula since ancient times. Saker falcons are the national bird of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Yemen and have been integral to Arab heritage and culture for over 9,000 years. They are the national emblem of many Arab countries.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species belongs to the close-knit hierofalcon complex. In this group, there is ample evidence for rampant hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting which confounds analyses of DNA sequence data to a massive extent; molecular studies with small sample sizes can simply not be expected to yield reliable conclusions in the entire hierofalcon group. The radiation of the entire living diversity of hierofalcons seems to have taken place in the Eemian interglacial at the start of the Late Pleistocene, a mere 130,000–115,000 years ago; the saker falcon represents a lineage that expanded out of northeastern Africa into the interior of southeastern Europe and Asia, by way of the eastern Mediterranean region.

Saker falcons tend to have variable plumage. Males and females are similar, except in size, as are young birds, although these tend to be darker and more heavily streaked. The call is a sharp kiy-ee or a repeated kyak-kyak-kyak. In the United States, Canada and Europe there are several captive breeding projects. The most dramatic decline of the saker falcon in Asia has been in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In contrast, a strongly protected and relatively abundant population persists in Hungary.

Saker falcons are known to be very susceptible to avian influenza, individuals having been found infected with highly pathogenic H5N1 (in Saudi Arabia) and H7N7 (in Italy) strains. Therefore, an experiment was done with hybrid gyr-saker falcons, which found that five falcons vaccinated with a commercial H5N2 influenza vaccine survived infection with a highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, whereas five unvaccinated falcons died. This means that sakers could be protected from bird flu by vaccination, at least in captivity. In 2012, the saker falcon was selected as the national bird of Mongolia.

Use in falconry

The saker falcon has been used in falconry for thousands of years, and like its very close relative, the gyrfalcon, is highly regarded in it. Swift and powerful, it is effective against medium-sized to large-sized game bird species. The saker falcon and peregrine falcon can be hybridised to provide falcons used in the control of larger birds considered pests.

References

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  • saker.sciencefornature.org
  • Live 24hr view of a saker falcon nest
  • Saker Falcon Falco cherrug Global Action Plan (SakerGAP)