North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail.

The American kestrel (Falco sparverius), is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. Though has been called the American sparrowhawk, this common name is a misnomer; the American kestrel is a true falcon, while the Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, is not in the Falco genus and is thus genetically unrelated to the American ...

North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail.

Our smallest falcon, the kestrel is also the most familiar and widespread in North America. In open country it is commonly seen perched on roadside wires, or hovering low over a field on rapidly beating wings, waiting to pounce on a grasshopper.

About the size of a Blue Jay, the American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America. Common nicknames for this scrappy little raptor include "sparrow hawk" (after the distantly related Eurasian Sparrowhawk), "grasshopper hawk," for one of its favorite prey items, and "killy hawk," due to its shrill call.

The American Kestrel is the continent’s most common and widespread falcon, but populations declined by an estimated 1.41% per year for a cumulative decline of about 53% between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

The American Kestrel holds the distinction of being the smallest, most numerous, and widely distributed North American falcon. This tiny bird of prey encompasses two subspecies in North America and ranges from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in the southern tip of South America.

The American Kestrel (pronunciation: Kess-Trell) is the smallest of the North American falcons. Widely distributed over varied habitats, it is also the commonest of all the falcons found in the country.

Learn more about American Kestrel from… Petite falcon roughly the same size as Mourning Dove, but with a larger head and wider tail. In flight, note long, narrow wings and square-tipped tail. Often seen perched on telephone wires, along roadsides, in open country with short vegetation and few trees.

2023年2月23日 · Meet the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), the smallest falcon in North America. You can easily identify them by their slate-blue and rusty uppersides and pale undersides. These skilled predators mostly hunt by perching but you can also see them hovering over open fields.