American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
Summary 5
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) 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. It also ranges to South America, and is a well-established species that has evolved seventeen subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the Americas. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size (females being moderately
Description 6
• Size: 8-12 inches long; 2 ¾-5 ¾ ounces; 20-24 inches
• Color: pale underside, rusty brown spotted with black above, black band near tip of tail, pairs of black vertical slashes on sides of pale faces, males have slate-blue wings, females have reddish brown wings
• Sound: loud, excited series of 3-6 klee! or killy!
• Reproduction: Nest in existing cavities
• Food: Small animals
• Behavior: Aerial dive
• Habitat: Grasslands
Vocalizations 7
The American kestrel has three basic vocalizations – the "klee" or "killy", the "whine", and the "chitter". The "klee" is usually delivered as a rapid series – klee, klee, klee, klee when the kestrel is upset or excited. This call is used in a wide variety of situations and is heard from both sexes, but the larger females typically have lower-pitched voices than the males. The "whine" call is primarily associated with feeding but is also uttered during copulation. The "chitter" is used in activities that involve interaction between male and female birds, including courtship feeding, copulation, and the feeding of nestlings. Nestlings can produce calls similar to those of adults at 16 days old.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jonathan Eisen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jonathan Eisen
- (c) Kala Murphy King, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Kala Murphy King
- (c) SINEAD, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by SINEAD
- (c) Bernardo Zorrilla Garza, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bernardo Zorrilla Garza
- Adapted by Hayden Wright from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falco_sparverius
- (c) Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1163132
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_kestrel
