The birds of Pasvik / E. I. Khlebosolov, O. A. Makarova, O. A. Khlebosolova [et al. ; English transl. Nikita Chernetsov]. - Ryazan : Golosgubernii, 2007. - 175 с. : ил., портр.

F.t. Figure 2.5. Optimal habitats o f Rough-legged Buzzard (B.l.) and C omm on Kestrel (F.t.) in the Pasvik valley. tically all landscapes o f Pasvik, therefore this species occurs everywhere. Peregrines and Gyrfalcons take larger birds. For successful foraging they need large open spaces that allow them to notice prey, persue it and attack. T herefo re these species avoid dense forests and mainly occur in the tu n d ra and forest tund ra. Small rodent-eating raptors Only two species o f raptors th a t specialize on m ice and voles live in Pasvik. Rough-legged Buzzard is one o f the most comm on birds o f prey in terrestrial ecosystems o f Pasvik. It occurs everywhere in th e forest and tu n d ra (Fig. 2.5). It forages in relatively open habitats, including wetlands, forest clearings, fire sites, forest edges. Like other buzzards, the Rough-legged Buzzard is a specialised small rodent eater. Its diet mainly consists o f voles and lemm ings. Apart from th em , it sometimes takes small birds, lizards, frogs (S em enov -T ian -Shan sky & Gilyazov 1991). Rough-legged Buzzards search for prey by slowly flying against the wind or soaring. Sometimes it hovers like the Kestrel (S em enov -T ian -Shan sky & Gilyazov 1991). Rough-legged Buzzards prefer not to take solitary an im als, bu t rath e r search for their concentrations and th en wait for prey in th e air, in th e trees, rocks, o r on the ground. Kestrels, like Rough-legged Buzzards, o c cu r in various hab itats and forage in the open areas (Fig. 2.5). The m ain food o f this species is m ice and voles, som e­ times small birds and insects. Kestrels utilize a specific foraging m ethod. They range broadly, periodically hover, look for prey and attack it (C ram p & Simmons 1982, Keskpaik & Leht 1977, Rezanov 2002). Both Rough-legged Buzzard and Kestrel take sim ilar food and forage in open habitats. However they use different m ethods o f searching fo r food and foraging. 88