By Chris Carpenter
What is able to catch small mammals in a single dive, hover in midair, fly faster than a speeding train (well maybe not quite that fast), it’s a plane, it’s superman, no it’s a bird, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius). Kestrels are small and delicate falcons with long pointed wings and tails (length: 8-10 inches, weight: 4 – 5 ounces and wingspan: 20-23 inches).
Its blue-gray wings, orange back with black bars, orange tail and very patterned head with the classic falcon moustache make the kestrel one of Kentucky’s more colorful raptors. Their call is a high-pitched, clear kli kli kli kli kli kli. When kestrels perch they bob their tail up and down. This is a great identifying characteristic since no other similar raptors exhibit this tail pumping.
Common throughout Kentucky, especially in open country along rural highways and roads, the kestrel frequently perches on powerlines while hunting for food in nearby fields and pastures. Like other falcons the kestrel hunts with speed and surprise, oftentimes they hover over their unsuspecting prey and then dive down to capture the animal. Their primary food consists of insects and small mammals, however, they will take small amphibians and reptiles, songbirds and occasionally small bats.
Kestrels are year-round residents in Kentucky and usually begin setting up nesting territories in March. Their nests are typically made in cavities such as old woodpecker homes or nest boxes. The breeding season consists of one brood of four or five eggs with a 30-day incubation, a 30-day nestling phase and a 14-day fledgling phase. The young are usually fledged by June. During this season the female takes care of the nest most of the day while the male hunts for food.
The American kestrel has many common names; formerly it was referred to as the eastern sparrow hawk. Other names include: “K” bird, windhover, grasshopper hawk, chicken hawk and mouse hawk. The next time you’re traveling down a rural road in Kentucky be on the lookout for one of our most common raptors.
Chris Carpenter is a biologist with Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives