COMMON NAMES: Sparrow Hawk

RANGE: Most of North America, excluding the far north

HABITAT: Open savanna-like areas with a few trees, forest edges near open areas, farmsteads, suburbs, city parks, desert areas with cactus

SIZE:
LENGTH: 8-11 inches
WINGSPAN: 20-24 inches
WEIGHT: 3.4-5.3 ounces (equivalent to a quarter-pounder with cheese)

LIFE EXPECTANCY:
WILD: 3-5 years
CAPTIVITY: Up to 14 years

DIET:
WILD: Snakes, lizards, bats, smaller birds, mice, voles, and insects (beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas). Kestrels will feed mainly on mammals and birds during the early parts of the breeding season and lizards and invertebrates later in the breeding season. They concentrate on hunting invertebrates when readily available.
CAPTIVITY: Chicks, mice, and crickets

BEHAVIOR: Kestrels like exposed perches such as telephone poles, wires, fence posts, and dead branches on trees. They are swift, erratic fliers, and in a flat flight they may travel at up to 39 mph, and they can dive at speeds up to 60 mph. They pump their tails and bob their heads while perched, especially when agitated. Kestrels are capable of hovering when hunting, and this behavior is seen frequently over highway medians. They will dive feet first when hunting insects and usually capture them by pinning them to the ground rather than capturing them with their beak. They will dive for other prey items head first to gain additional speed and force.

REPRODUCTION: Kestrels prefer to nest in natural cavities found in trees, cactus, or cliffs, but they will use man-made nest boxes and building cavities. They are dominant over most cavity nesting birds (woodpeckers and flickers), chipmunks and squirrels. Kestrels compete intensely with screech owls for nest sites, and eggs of both species have been found in the same nest. They prefer to nest in sites that are protected from the weather, and in areas where storms come from the south and southwest they nest on east facing slopes with the entrance holes almost always facing east. Their average clutch size is of 5 eggs laid at 2 day intervals. The female is responsible for most of the incubating, but the male does 3-4 hours daily. The incubation period is of 29-31 days, and the fledging of the young occurs at 29-31 days. Because of efficient parental defense, there is a high survival rate for fledglings.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Kestrels are the daytime counterparts of screech owls, and the two species will compete heavily for resources like prey and nesting sites.

Kestrels are the only North American raptor with circular nostrils.
 

Falcon Characteristics: Kestrels are the smallest and most common falcon in North America and are often incorrectly called “sparrow hawks.” They have the long, swept back wings that are typical of falcons. This design is very special and allows the Kestrel to be very maneuverable in the air in pursuit of prey. The US Air Force designed fighters using the falcons' wing design to gain that same ability to maneuver quickly in the air. The upper mandible of the Kestrel also possesses a notch like other falcons. Called a “killing tooth,” it fits perfectly over the spine of vertebrate prey and allows the tiny falcon to quickly dispatch its catch.
 

Plumage: Kestrels are one of the few sexually dimorphic (males and females are different) raptors in North America. They are similarly marked, but males have slate blue wings while the females’ are brown and black barred. The dark hood on the Kestrel’s head is characteristic of a falcon, and it is believed to work in conjunction with the malar stripes beneath their eyes to reduce sun glare, much like the shoe polish that football players put under their eyes. The black spots on the nape of their neck are called "false eyes," and they are thought to be protective coloration. The "eyes" deter predators by making it appear that the Kestrel is watching them at all times.
 

Eyesight: If a Kestrel could read, it could read a newspaper lying on the ground from the top of the Empire State Building. To aid them in keeping their keen eyes on their prey, Kestrels are able to keep their head in practically the same position even while perching on a moving object, like a branch or power line.
 

Caching: Kestrels will cache food year round, unlike other falcons that only cache during breeding season. When incubating eggs, the cache of excess food ensures that the chicks can be fed even if the male does not return with food. After the breeding season, Kestrels may maintain several sites in places ranging from hollow trees to utility-pole switch boxes. Generally the food will be retrieved within a few hours or days. One female was seen killing and stashing twenty mice provided by scientists.
 

Pair Bonding and Courtship: Pair formation begins soon after the male has established a territory. Often, the same female will return to a male’s territory to mate, or she will otherwise “visit” males’ territories and eventually begin to associate with one worthy male. Courtship includes dive displays, curtseying, bowing, and courtship feeding. A male will climb 10 to 20 meters into the sky before diving down to swoop just above the female in a dive display. He will also often gather and offer food to the female while chittering during courtship feeding. Once a female associates exclusively with one male, the pairing is complete, and often is permanent. The pair will begin to search for a nest site; the male always leads the female, sometimes enticing her with calls or with food. Females will not seek out nest sites on their own.
 

STATUS: In general, the Kestrel is the most common North American raptor. There are an estimated 1.2 million pairs, not including the Neotropical component. However, the southeastern race paulus has been listed as "threatened" in Florida. Those populations have declined more than 80 percent since the early 1940's due to habitat loss.