Common Kestrel

Males with a blue-grey head and tail over a rufous, black-spotted back, and females rufous and heavily barred, the Common Kestrel is a small falcon best known for hovering — a hunting technique unique among European raptors. Hanging on beating wings at 10 to 20 metres, it drops on voles and mice, its principal prey, supplemented by lizards, large insects, and small birds. It is one of the most common and widespread raptors of the Old World, occupying farmland, grassland, moorland, and urban areas and often seen along motorways. Nesting in cavities and on ledges, it lays one to seven eggs, incubated for 27 to 31 days, with young fledging at 27 to 35 days. Its shrill, repeated calls carry clearly across open country. The species is classified as Least Concern.