Where do lesser kestrels live?
The lesser kestrel breeds in the palearctic in Europe and northern Asia roughly between 30 and 50 degrees North latitude. The distribution includes altitudes of up to 500m above sea level. It is a migratory species, spending its winter in Africa, south of the Sahara.
What is the smallest kestrel in the world?
American kestrel
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove.
What do lesser kestrels eat?
insects
The Lesser Kestrel has a diet composition which consists of mostly big insects such as orthopterans, termites, coleopteran such as beetles and also some other larger terrestrial arthropods (Cramp, 1980; Kopij and Liven-Schulman, 2012) .
Is a kestrel the same as a peregrine falcon?
These are small to medium-sized birds of prey with tapered wings and tails. They include kestrels, which hover while searching for food, and the larger, peregrine-like falcons, which are fast-flying, agile and dramatic. The kestrel is largely resident in the UK but a migrant in northern Europe.
Are kestrel endangered?
Least Concern (Population decreasing)
Common kestrel/Conservation status
What is the smallest bird of prey in the UK?
Merlin
Merlin. The UK’s smallest bird of prey, this compact, dashing falcon has a relatively long, square-cut tail and rather broad-based pointed wings.
How do you identify a kestrel?
Kestrels have light-brown plumage with dark spots. Males have a grey-blue head, while females are all brown. The species has pointed wings and a tail that appears long in flight and fan-shaped when the bird is hovering.
Do kestrels eat bats?
Kestrels hunt mostly mice and large insects, but will also take bats, small snakes, frogs, earthworms and birds.
What bird of prey hovers like a Kestrel?
Falcons
These are small to medium-sized birds of prey with tapered wings and tails. They include kestrels, which hover while searching for food, and the larger, peregrine-like falcons, which are fast-flying, agile and dramatic.
What is the smallest British bird of prey?
merlin
In the UK, our smallest bird of prey is the merlin. A member of the falcon family, the merlin measures as little as 26 cm in length, which is roughly the same size as a mistle thrush.
Where does the lesser kestrel live in the world?
The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European range.
What kind of bird is a kestrel bird?
It is a small bird of prey, 27–33 cm (11–13 in) in length with a 63–72 cm (25–28 in) wingspan. It looks very much like the larger common kestrel but has proportionally shorter wings and tail. It shares a brown back and barred grey underparts with the larger species.
What kind of call does a kestrel make?
The call is a diagnostic harsh chay-chay-chay, unlike the common kestrel’s kee-kee-kee. Neither sex has dark talons as is usual in falcons; those of this species are a peculiar whitish-horn color. This, however, is only conspicuous when birds are seen at very close range, e.g. in captivity.
Which is the only New World species called a kestrel?
The American kestrel is the only New World species termed “kestrel”. The molecular data of Groombridge as well as morphological peculiarities (like grey wings in males and a black ear-spot) and biogeography, strongly support the view that this species, among the Falco falcons, is not a kestrel at all in…