American Kestrel

Falco Sparverius

North America’s most common bird of prey and only slightly larger than a mourning dove, which it is constantly mistaken for. The American kestrel, previously called the sparrow hawk, belongs to the Falcon family that also includes caracara, gyrfalcon and merlin.

Characteristics

American kestrels are one of the most colourful birds of prey. It has striking features that can differentiate them with other raptors. The male is slightly more colourful than the female with slate blue mixed with the reddish brown that both sexes have. The bird has a slate grey crown topped with a reddish brown spot and reddish brown wings with slate blue edges, and black spots all along the back…

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