American Kestrel

by Robert Bales

Title

American Kestrel

Artist

Robert Bales

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

North America's littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator,s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male,s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.
American Kestrels are pale when seen from below and warm, rusty brown spotted with black above, with a black band near the tip of the tail. Males have slate-blue wings; female's wings are reddish brown. Both sexes have pairs of black vertical slashes on the sides of their pale faces sometimes called a mustache and a sideburn.
"American Kestrels usually snatch their victims from the ground, though some catch quarry on the wing. They are gracefully buoyant in flight, and are small enough to get tossed around in the wind. When perched, kestrels often pump their tails as if they are trying to balance. The American kestrel hunts by hovering in the air with rapid wing beats or perching and scanning the ground for prey. Its diet typically consists of grasshoppers, lizards, mice, and small birds (e.g. sparrows). It nests in cavities in trees, cliffs, buildings, and other structures. The female lays three to seven eggs, which both sexes help to incubate. It is a common bird to be used in falconry, especially by beginners. Though not as aggressive a hunter as many other larger falcons, proper training and weight control by the falconer allows many kestrels to become effective hunters of birds in the size range of sparrows and starlings, with occasional success against birds up to approximately twice their own weight.
American Kestrels occupy habitats ranging from deserts and grasslands to alpine meadows. You're most likely to see them perching on telephone wires along roadsides, in open country with short vegetation and few trees.

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January 14th, 2015

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