American kestrel

Falco sparverius · The American kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon in the Americas, living almost everywhere in North and South America.

American kestrel
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
American kestrel
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
American kestrel
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderFalconiformes
FamilyFalconidae
GenusFalco
SpeciesFalco sparverius

Where it lives

Open country from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

Fun facts

  • Each side of a kestrel's head has two narrow black facial stripes, while other falcons have only one.
  • Kestrels can hover in the air with rapid wing beats while scanning the ground for prey, a hunting style called kiting.
  • American kestrels live in very diverse places, from above the Arctic Circle to the tropics, and at over 4,500 m high in the Andes Mountains.
  • A kestrel's eggs are about 10% larger than average for a bird of its body size.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).