Page created on : February 5, 2000
Last updated : August 26, 2004

When we think of birds of prey, we often seize on images of giant predators wheeling in the sky like fighter aircraft searching for targets. But the American Kestrel is in fact not much larger than an American Robin.

Don't be fooled by the size. This raptor is armed with strong taloned feet and a powerful hooked bill. A tooth-like projection on the upper part of the beak allows the kestrel to tear apart small birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Insects are also consumed and when plentiful, grasshoppers constitue the staple food on the kestrel.

This small predator hunts over open country and often hovers above one spot. It can be seen in fields, meandows, prairies, burntlands, woodland openings and cities. The kestrel often perches on dead-topped trees, fence posts, poles and buildings and when it perches it flicks its tail repeatedly.

Kestrels are not fastidious about their accommodation. Mating begins in spring but little attempt is made to build any nest. Instead the American Kestrel will make use of a handy woodpecker hole, natural cavity, or any recess in a building or bank burrow. Four or five eggs are incubated by the female in a month. The male feeds the female during this period, then both parents share the task of feeding the fledglings until they are old enough to fly.