A team of conservationists have discovered what they believe could be the world's largest population of Taita falcons, the rarest of the species.

The Taita falcon is listed as 'vulnerable' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, who publish a special list of threatened species called the IUCN Red List. 

According to the African Raptor Centre, the Taita falcon derives its name from the place where the species was first collected, Taita in Kenya. The falcons nest in erosion holes in sheer cliffs and predominantly hunt small birds. It is believed that a possible reason for their rarity is competition with larger species.

Thirty-seven of these birds were spotted in the Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique, one of Africa’s largest and wildest reserves, reports BBC.

What was most surprising about the discovery is that this is not an area in which it is normally seen. Small populations of the birds of prey can usually be found in Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa.