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Eurasian Kestrel

Falco tinnunculusOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Falcons (Falconidae)

Eurasian Kestrel Portrait_2
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General

Eurasian Kestrel: Small falcon with spotted rufous upperparts and brown-streaked buff underparts. Head is gray with black moustache stripe. Tail is black- and blue-gray banded with black tip. Female has pale brown-streaked head and black-banded tail. Juvenile resembles female, but has heavier barring on upperparts and tail.

Range and Habitat

Eurasian Kestrel: Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa; casual visitor to western Aleutians and Bering Sea region, accidental in fall and winter on the east coast from New Brunswick to New Jersey, and on the west coast to British Columbia. Found in open grasslands, hills, plains, and cultivated and semi-desert areas.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kee-kee-kee"

Interesting Facts

  • The Eurasian Kestrel is also known as the European and the Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally called the Kestrel.
  • It has recently been shown that they are able to see near ultraviolet light. This allows them to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows, which reflect this ultraviolet light.
  • A group of kestrels are collectively known as a " flight", " hover", and "soar" of kestrels.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Eurasian Kestrel
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Falco tinnunculus
Length12 - 16 Inches
Wingspan28.5 Inches

Eurasian Kestrel

Eurasian Kestrel: Small falcon, spotted rufous upperparts, brown-streaked buff underparts. Gray head, black moustache stripe. Tail is black- and blue-gray banded with black tip. Feeds on large insects, small rodents and birds. Alternates rapid wing beats with a glide. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "kee-kee-kee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Eurasian Kestrel: Feeds mostly on short-tailed field voles, but also consumes other voles, mice, shrews, small birds, insects, and earthworms.

● Breeding & nesting: Eurasian Kestrel: Three to six brown marked, white eggs are laid in an abandoned nest, usually in a tree split or cavity, and lined with little if any nest material; nest may also be located on a ledge, cliff, or building. Incubation ranges from 28 to 32 days and is carried out primarily by the female.

● Similar species: Eurasian Kestrel: American Kestrel is smaller and has two dark facial stripes.

Flight Pattern

Rapid wing beats followed by short glide.
Eurasian Kestrel Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Eurasian Kestrel: Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa; casual visitor to western Aleutians and Bering Sea region, accidental in fall and winter on the east coast from New Brunswick to New Jersey, and on the west coast to British Columbia. Found in open grasslands, hills, plains, and cultivated and semi-desert areas.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationAccidental to casual
MigrationMigratory
Weight6.6 Ounces