American Kestrel

24.5-29 cm. The adult male has a bluish slate crown, often with a central rufous patch: black nuchal collar often incomplete: back and scapulars rufous, spotted or barred with black: tail mainly rufous, narrowly white-tipped and with a black subterminal band: outer tail feathers sometimes white, barred black on the inner web: wing coverts and secondaries light bluish slate, more or less spotted or barred with black: primaries black, spotted or deeply notched white on inner webs: throat and side of head white, the latter with two vertical stripes: undersides buffy, often with black spotting on the midsection and flanks. <nThe female is like the male, but the upper side is rufous barred black: primaries with rufous spotting: below creamy white or buffy.<nThe immature is like the adults of the respective sexes, but the breast is more heavily spotted or streaked: rectrices tipped with brown, not white.

Sequence of highly pitched calls tititititititi... .

Perch-hunts from high or low vantage points, transsects areas by flying low and dives down for prey such as mammal or reptiles: frequently hoovers to scan the ground below. Attends grass fires. These birds like the European Kestrel might be able to assess prey density by determining UV reflection of urine tracts of small mammals.

Breeder

Still common in all open and semiopen areas, also entering towns and cities. Savannah, farmland, open woodland, marshes, golf courses.

Throughout.