Common Kestrel

Description:

Kestrels have light-brown plumage with dark spots. Males have a grey-blue head, while females are all brown. The species has pointed wings and a tail that appears long in flight and fan-shaped when the bird is hovering. They have a typical wing span of ~75cm and weigh up to 250g, they are roughly the size of a magpie.

Habitat:

Kestrels are diurnal birds and prefers open habitats such as fields, heaths, shrub-land and marshland. Food: small mammals and birds, worms and insects.This little one was scoping out the mice in my garden.

Notes:

Numbers of kestrels declined in the 1970s, probably as a result of changes in farming and so it is included on the Amber List. They have adapted readily to man-made environments and can survive right in the centre of cities.