American Kestrel
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Common Name: American Kestrel
Class: Aves
Order:
Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Falco
Species:
Falco sparverius
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Photo: Ivan Andrijevic |
TAXONOMY
The American
Kestrel is part of the Falconiformes order, its name comes from the Latin “falco,” which refers
to the sickle shape of their talons or shape of their wings in
flight and “sparverius” which means “striped” referring to the
underside of their wings. Roughly the size of
a Robin, they are the smallest falcon in North America with a length
of 20-29cm (8-11in), mass of 111-120g (3.9-4.2oz), and wingspan of
51-61cm (20-24in). Males are smaller than the females and they
are sexualy dichromatic. Males have blue-grey wings
while females are rufous wings. Both have a blue-grey head, rufous
tail and back, and “moustache” marks on the face indicative of all
falcon species.
P
hoto: M. Noonan
HABITAT/DIET
American Kestrels
live in many different habitats such as parks, suburbs, open fields,
forest openings, grasslands, marshes, plains, and deserts. They
need to have open space in order to hunt as well as perching areas
which they use to scan the area for potential prey. Their diet consists
of large insects, such as grasshoppers and dragonflies, as well as
mice and voles. American Kestrels have also
been known to eat other small birds. They hunt in a multitude of
ways such as hovering until is sees its prey, and hunting from from perches,
then diving to catch them. If the Kestrel will cast pellets of
indigestible material such as fur and bones and they also have been
seen to cache uneaten food outside of the nest for later use. They will sometimes even harass
larger birds such as hawks from their territory which is called
mobbing.
Photo: M. Noonan
BEHAVIOR
American Kestrels
form strong pair bonds and have been known to reestablish previous
pair bonds. They nest in cavities, such as hollow
trees, rock cavities, and man-made nest boxes. Females
lay between 4-5 eggs that are incubated for 29-31 days.
When hatched young are downy,
immobile with closed eyes. Both the male and female
take turns caring for the eggs and chicks bringing back
food and tearing up the food for the chicks to eat. The young
fledge in 26 to 31 days after they hatch.
