It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern and East African coasts.

They appear morphologically somewhat intermediate between kestrels and hobbies and DNA sequence data has been unable to further resolve this question, mainly due to lack of comprehensive sampling.

[7] The Amur falcon breeds in east Asia from the Transbaikalia, Amurland, and northern Mongolian region to parts of North Korea.

They migrate in a broad front through India and Sri Lanka, sometimes further east over Thailand and Cambodia and then over the Arabian Sea, sometimes in passage on the Maldives and other islands to reach southern Africa.

Because of its tendency to wander long distances over the ocean while migrating, this falcon has been found in locations far outside its normal range, such as in Italy, Sweden, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and the United Kingdom.

[8][2] The Amur falcon feeds mainly late in the evening or early in the morning capturing a wide range of insects in the air or on the ground.

[1][16] In 2012, mass trapping and capture of migrating Amur falcons at Pangti village in Nagaland (India) was reported in the media and a successful campaign was begun to prevent their killing.

[18] A study into the drivers that helped turn Amur falcon hunters into protectors at Pangti, suggests that strong leadership and shared responsibility among village institutions were key.

It found that local leaders successfully navigated power struggles over limited NGO and government funds, leading to a unified conservation effort.