Species

American kestrel

Falco sparverius

North America's smallest falcon, a colourful hunter that hovers over fields and perches on wires.

Photo River Ahlquist (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Predation

At a glance

Size: About 22 to 31 cm long
Weight: About 80 to 165 g
Habitat: Open fields, pastures, roadsides and farmland
Diet: Grasshoppers, dragonflies, mice, voles, lizards and small birds
In Georgia: Common in winter; a few pairs nest statewide, including the rare southeastern race
Voice: A shrill "killy-killy-killy"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Small falcon; two dark stripes on the face; rusty back and tail; males with blue-grey wings
Told apart from: Merlin, which is darker with a single faint moustache
Told apart from: Mourning dove on a wire, which has a small head and pointed tail
Where to look: Perched on wires along fields and roads, often bobbing its tail

Behaviour

Kestrels hunt from perches or by hovering in place over fields, then drop onto prey. They nest in tree cavities and nest boxes.

Why they matter

American kestrels have declined in many parts of North America, and nest-box programmes help them. The southeastern American kestrel, a resident subspecies, depends on open, fire-maintained pine woods and old snags for nesting.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A tree cavity or nest box
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 29 to 31 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about four to five weeks
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Nest boxes on poles in open country are used readily.
Rodent poisons and insecticides reduce their food and poison them.

Misconceptions

Kestrels are sparrow hawks that eat sparrows. They eat mostly insects and rodents.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering birds common	Wintering	Residents pairing	Nesting	Nesting	Young fledging	Families	Present	Migrants arriving	Migrants	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 94 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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