|
|
Kestrels are mainly solitary birds, forming into pairs at the start of the breeding season (March/April) and staying as a family group up to 3 months after the chicks have fledged. The kestrel is one of the smaller members of the falcon family with the sexes having different plumage and the female is larger than the male. Females weigh between 5-11 ounces and males weighs between 5-9 ounces. The wingspan of the kestrel is between 28-32 inches with the tail length between 5-6 inches. The wings when closed are around 2 inches shorter than the tail. The dominant colour on both sexes is brown but when reaching adult plumage the male has a slate grey head and rump and a copper brown back with diamond shape markings. The tail of the both sexes also differs with the male having a slate grey tail with one thick black bar at the end of the feathers but the female has barring all the way up the tail feathers and the colour can range from buff through to a browny grey colour. In our experience some of our early guesses at sexing young birds have proved incorrect as our females have very grey rumps and tails which has caused the initial confusion. |
Kestrels hunt
mainly using two techniques; hovering or perch
hunting. When hovering the head is kept motionless to
allow the bird to scan the ground for sign of movement
by possible prey animals. They hover from a height of
around 30-40 ft and drop down a couple of levels and
then drop onto the prey with the talons extended and
the wings held high. Perch hunting is when they choose
a faviourite perch such as a tree or telegraph pole
and then survey the ground and drop down when prey is
spotted. Perch hunting is the preferred hunting
technique in winter as less energy is expended. The
kestrel diet consists largely of earthworms, beetles,
grasshoppers, caterpillers and lizards but this of
course depends on the type of habitat that the kestrel
holds. The breeding season
is from March to August and they lay in the region of
4 white base with rust mottling eggs.
