American Kestrel

Quick Facts

Migratory
  • Scientific Name: Falco sparverius
  • Spanish Name: Cernícalo americano
  • Family: Falconidae
  • Known Nicknames: Sparrow Hawk, Killy Hawk, Grasshopper Hawk
  • Average Length: 22–31 cm / 8.7–12.2 in
  • Average Weight: 80–165 g / 2.8–5.8 oz
  • Wingspan: 51–61 cm / 20–24 in
  • Key Feature: Rufous back and tail with two black vertical facial stripes
  • Primary Diet: Carnivore (insects, small mammals, birds, reptiles)
  • Range: North America through Central America to southern South America
  • Habitat: Open grasslands, deserts, farmlands, and urban areas with perches
  • Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
  • Nesting/Breeding: Tree cavities, cliff crevices, nest boxes, or building ledges
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Decreasing

The American Kestrel (*Falco sparverius*) is North America’s smallest and most colorful falcon, a dynamic predator often spotted hovering over open fields like a living kite. Its general appearance is striking: males boast slate-blue wings, a rusty-red back and tail, and a white face with bold black “whisker” marks, while females are more uniformly rufous with dark barring. Unique characteristics include its ability to hunt both on the wing and from perches, specializing in insects and small rodents, and its exceptional hovering flight, beating its wings rapidly while scanning the ground. A special feature is its two “false eyes” on the back of its head—dark spots on the nape that deter predators from behind. Despite its fierce nature, it often nests in cavities, including birdhouses, making it a favorite among urban birdwatchers.

Fun Facts

Despite their fierce hunting style, American Kestrels are the only raptors that regularly hover in place by rapidly flapping their wings into the wind, a behavior called "kiting" that lets them pinpoint tiny prey like grasshoppers from above. They also have a quirky habit of caching food, storing extra kills in tree crevices or fence posts for later. Uniquely, male kestrels perform a "courtship feeding" ritual, bringing the female food before mating, and the female’s plumage is more barred and rusty than the male’s slate-blue wings, which is the opposite color pattern of most birds of prey.

Habitats & Distribution

The American Kestrel occupies an exceptionally broad geographical range across the Western Hemisphere, from Alaska and northern Canada southward through the United States, Mexico, and Central America, and into the southernmost tip of South America, including Tierra del Fuego. Its habitat is equally diverse, favoring open or semi-open environments such as grasslands, agricultural fields, pastures, deserts, and alpine meadows, but it also adapts to urban and suburban settings like parks, golf courses, and roadsides. Crucially, it requires the presence of suitable perches for hunting—such as fence posts, utility wires, or dead trees—and access to cavities (natural tree holes or nest boxes) for nesting, which limits its presence in dense, unbroken forests.

Behaviours & Reproduction

American Kestrels are generally solitary outside of breeding season, but during spring, males establish territories and perform elaborate aerial courtship displays, including rapid dives and sharp climbs, to attract females. They are monogamous for a single season, though some pairs may reunite across years, and both sexes participate in selecting a nest cavity, often in tree hollows, cliffs, or human-made boxes, as they do not build their own nests. A unique reproductive strategy is the “backward-facing” clutch size: kestrels can lay 4-5 eggs, but they may adjust the number based on prey availability, with females sometimes laying a replacement clutch if the first fails. Incubation lasts about 30 days, shared mostly by the female while the male provisions her, and after hatching, both parents feed the chicks, which fledge at around 28-31 days but remain dependent for several weeks more. The social structure remains loose, with no cooperative breeding, but siblings may briefly stay together post-fledging before dispersing.

Diet

The American Kestrel is an opportunistic predator with a highly varied diet, primarily consisting of large insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and dragonflies, which it often catches in mid-air or plucks from the ground. It also hunts small mammals like voles, mice, and shrews, as well as small birds, reptiles (especially lizards), and occasionally amphibians or earthworms. An interesting aspect of their feeding behavior is that they are one of the few raptors that routinely hover in place while hunting, using rapid wingbeats to stay stationary against the wind to spot prey below. Furthermore, kestrels are known to cache surplus food in tree crevices or on fence posts, returning to it later during lean times. Remarkably, they possess excellent UV vision, which allows them to see the urine trails of small mammals (which glow in ultraviolet light), effectively tracking prey that is hidden in grass or underbrush.

Colors

The American Kestrel displays sexually dimorphic plumage. Males have slate-blue wings and a rufous tail with a black subterminal band, while females have rufous wings and tail with dark barring. Both sexes show a white or buff face with a distinctive black "mustache" mark below each eye and a rufous crown with a black cap. The back is rufous with black barring. These colors provide disruptive camouflage against tree bark and open ground, with the facial markings possibly reducing glare.

Frequently Asked Questions