A very common bird of prey, at first glance resembling a dove - the kestrel falcon. The name is explained by ornithologists. Since ancient times, hunting was popular in Russia, in which gyrfalcons, saker falcons, or sparrows always participated. Ancient hunters tried to teach this bird, but all in vain.
That's because this falcon does not catch prey in flight, unlike other predators of the sky, it was called an empty, useless bird - a kestrel. The ornithological name of the bird is tinnunculus. She received it because of her voice. The singing is reminiscent of the sound of "tee-tee." Height and color depend on the situation. The Latin name in translation means “ringing” or “sonorous”.
Kestrel Falcon (steppe, common): description
Kestrel steppe and common are very similar to each other. The steppe falcon is much smaller, but at the same time much more beautiful. Photographers prefer to shoot this bird in flight, especially the male. He has incomparable bright wings. The steppe kestrel is bright red, without any spots and mottled dots. The head is bluish-gray, and on the wedge-shaped tail is a black border. A striking difference between the steppe falcon is white claws. An ordinary kestrel can hang in the sky for a long time. But for this he constantly flutters his wings. And the steppe falcon freezes motionless. And these birds prefer to live in colonies. They like to eat insects, while the common kestrel catches and eats rodents, less often large insects.
This bird is found in Africa and Eurasia. And in Russia, one of the most popular falcons that lives in the Southern Urals, Altai, and Transcaucasia is the common kestrel. The hawk's habitat and lifestyle are well understood. The bird is distributed almost throughout the entire country, except for the tundra. He loves, of course, more floodplain banks of large rivers, forest-steppes and small forest belts. The dense forests are not for her, as she extracts food in the open.
In recent years, civilization has been actively absorbing the natural habitat of the small falcon, so he "moved" and settled down perfectly in the megacities of Europe. And the proximity of a person does not scare him at all.
Common
Common Kestrel is a rather modest bird. The small falcon feeds on lizards, mice, and sometimes large insects. In pursuit of prey, it can fly almost above the ground and look out for prey for a long time. Having noticed this, the bird often begins to flap its wings, freezes and sharply dives down.
Vision
Strong claws on the legs and sharp vision come to the aid of the bird in obtaining food. Kestrel has more acute eyesight than humans, more than 2.6 times. If people had the same, then the eye doctor’s checklist could easily be read from 90 meters! Experts say that the small falcon sees UV radiation very well. This gives him the opportunity to recognize the remains of rodent urine on the ground or grass. Thanks to what unmistakably track and kill these animals without much effort can ordinary kestrel. The Falcon family is the family to which the kestrel belongs. Her detachment, as you know, is Sokoliniy, and the clan is the Falcons.
Female and male
This bird has pronounced sexual dimorphism. The female from the male is easily distinguished by the color of the head. The male has light gray shades of head feathers. The head is a simple brown color. On the back there are poorly distinguishable black spots, mostly in the form of a rhombus. Its tail and part of the back near the tail are covered with bright light gray feathers. The tail end is bordered with black stripes with white trim. Under it are creamy feathers and faint spots of a light brown hue. Feathers of the abdomen and wings are almost white.
The female differs from the male in a beautiful transverse dark strip running through the entire back. Her tail has a brown tint, with many transverse stripes and a clear edging at the end. The abdomen below is strewn with spots and much darker.
The young male kestrel first resembles a female in color. Only the wings are slightly shorter and more rounded. Feathers are decorated with light borders. Thickening of the beak and eye ring in young - from pale blue to light green in color, and in adults - yellow. The tail is rounded because the tail feathers are short. Wings of adults cover tail feathers, on densely yellow legs very dark claws. The mass of the common kestrel is just over 200 grams, the male barely reaches 300. The average length of the male is 34.5 cm, and the female is 36 cm. The wingspan for such a small bird is impressive - 75-76 cm.
Where is the nest located?
From the winter habitats, the small falcon flies in mid-April - early May. The nest is twisted in pairs. Less often, you can find several more pairs nearby or even a colony, but not more than 10 birds.
The common kestrel prefers to nest on not very open forest edges and even on power lines. Less commonly, her home can be found on small cliffs or rivers, along steep banks. He does not deal with the construction of the nest, like most falcons, but finds unoccupied nests abandoned by magpies, rooks, or crows. Sometimes the kestrel family can be found in a hollow on a separate tree, and it does not matter that the hollow was not empty. The bird easily expels the hosts and settles itself. The selected nest symbolically completes with several branches.
Egg laying and hatching
Depending on the weather, common kestrel begins to lay eggs closer to the end of April. The female hatches about five brightly colored, in ocher shades of speckled eggs. But ornithologists found nests with 8 or more eggs. Kestrel masonry happens only once a year. In rare cases, the death of all eggs, the bird can still make one clutch. Only the female hatches offspring. The male is working on food.
Progeny
Chicks appear already after a month. They immediately hear and see well. Having been born, small falcon chicks are covered with the most delicate white fluff and the same white ones have a beak and claws. In the event of a possible danger, they lie on their backs, pointing up sharp claws, or simply lie on the bottom of the nest. Parents both are actively engaged in offspring. The appetite in children is "serious." Foods require a lot and often. In one day, while feeding offspring, two parents destroy more than twenty small rodents! At this time of grace, they bring invaluable benefits to farmers and gardeners. And they say that the "empty" bird. Wrong, because her contribution to preserving the harvest is great! Young common kestrel slowly changes its plumage color to an adult. At this time, the chicks are already interested in the surrounding life and require even more food.
After 45-50 days, the young falcons are already ready for the first flight. At this time, you can see "gymnastic exercises" on the edge of the nest. Soon the chicks of the common kestrel will become winged, and in late September - early October they will go with their parents to wintering places.
