Though the species has not been renamed as a result of these genetic analyses, it is not actually a kestrel in the phylogenetic sense. It is an occasional vagrant to Western Europe.īased on appearance and behavior it was for many years considered a member of the primarily European and African kestrel clade within the genus Falco, but DNA analysis shows the American kestrel to actually be genetically more closely related to the larger American falcons such as the peregrine, aplomado, and prairie falcons. Most birds breeding in Canada and the northern United States migrate south in the winter. It is a local breeder in Central America and is widely distributed throughout South America. Its breeding range extends from central and western Alaska across northern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south throughout North America, into central Mexico and the Caribbean. The female lays three to seven eggs, which both sexes help to incubate. It nests in cavities in trees, cliffs, buildings, and other structures. This broad diet has contributed to its wide success as a species. Its diet typically consists of grasshoppers and other insects, lizards, mice, and small birds (e.g. It sometimes hovers in the air with rapid wing beats while homing in on prey. The American kestrel usually hunts in energy-conserving fashion by perching and scanning the ground for prey to ambush, though it also hunts from the air. Its plumage is colorful and attractive, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size (females being moderately larger) and plumage, although both sexes have a rufous back with noticeable barring. It also ranges to South America and is a well-established species that has evolved into 17 subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the Americas. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove. The American kestrel ( Falco sparverius), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. Adult female in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Kestrel resting in an apple tree.
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