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Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

Identify the Common Kestrel by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Common Kestrel is a small falcon widespread across Europe, Asia and Africa, famous for its ability to hover almost motionless into the wind while searching the ground for prey. It has long, narrow wings and a long tail. The sexes differ: males have a grey head and tail, females are browner, and both have a dark moustache mark. Northern populations migrate south for the winter, while many others are resident.

Did you know?

  • Its old nickname “windhover” comes from its habit of hovering into the wind while hunting.
  • Kestrels can see ultraviolet light, which helps them find the urine trails of voles.

Voice

Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

A small falcon with long wings and a long tail. The upperparts are rufous-brown with dark spots and the underparts pale with dark spots; the male has a grey head and a grey tail with a black band, while females and young are browner with a barred tail. Its typical hovering into the wind separates it from most other falcons.

Family

Falconidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

brown, grey, white, black

About the habitat

Open and semi-open landscapes – farmland, meadows, heath, moorland, dunes, marsh edges and steppe – as well as towns and villages.

Diet

Mainly small mammals, especially voles; also small birds, large insects and occasionally reptiles and amphibians.

Behaviour

Hunts by hovering into the wind with rapid wingbeats and a fanned tail, then dropping onto prey; also hunts from perches such as poles and trees. Usually seen singly or in pairs, often along road verges and over farmland. It nests on cliffs, buildings, in tree holes or old crow nests, and readily uses nest boxes.

Sources

Photo: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common kestrel falco tinnunculus.jpg

Sound: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, XC468403, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/468403

Sound: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, XC468409, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/468409

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_kestrel

See also