This species tolerates a wide range of open and partially forested habitats; it is found from open desert to city centres (del Hoyo et al. 1994, Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). In Arabia, its diet includes mostly invertebrates (locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars), reptiles (snakes, lizards), but also small rodents and birds (Jennings 2010). Migrant birds leave their breeding grounds between August and October (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001), arriving in the UAE from September onward; (Richardson 1990). The return journey begins from February through until April (the exact time probably dependent on food availability), and is often undertaken in small mixed groups with F. naumanni and occasionally F. vespertinus (Brown et al. 1982, Snow and Perrins 1998, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). The species is mainly diurnal (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). It can be solitary or gregarious, and larger groups may congregate at sources of abundant food. In the UAE, individuals from both the resident and the wintering population may already form pairs in February (Jennings 2010). In most of Arabia, the breeding period lasts from February to June, but in the UAE nestlings have exceptionally been recorded as late as August (Jennings 2010). Clutches contain two to five eggs (Jennings 2010). The nesting site can be on a cliff ledge or rocky outcrop in the mountains, but also man-made structures are readily used, like window ledges on high-rise buildings, floodlights, towers and roofs (Jennings 2010). There is no nest built; eggs are either laid directly on the surface or into an abandoned nest of another species, especially of corvids (del Hoyo et al. 1994, Jennings 2010).