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American Kestrel

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The American Kestrel, formerly known as the Sparrow Hawk, is about the size of a Mourning Dove, making it the smallest falcon in North America.  It typically perches on tall trees, or telephone lines and poles, surveying surrounding fields in hopes of finding insects or small mammals to eat.  This female American Kestrel (her wings are rusty colored, males’ are slate-blue) flew down to the ground, captured an insect and returned to its telephone pole perch where it consumed its meal.  If you look closely at the perched kestrel, you’ll see a notch in its upper bill.  Many falcons have this notch which is thought to be an adaptation for severing the spinal column of vertebrate prey. 


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