About the Lesser Kestrel
The lesser kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European range. The genus name derives from Late Latin falx, falcis, a sickle, referencing the claws of the bird, and the species name commemorates the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Naumann.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
It is a small bird of prey, 27–33 cm (11–13 in) in length with a 63–72 cm (25–28 in) wingspan. It looks very much like the larger common kestrel but has proportionally shorter wings and tail. It shares a brown back and barred grey underparts with the larger species. The male has a grey head and tail like male common kestrels, but lacks the dark spotting on the back, the black malar stripe, and has grey patches in the wings. The female and young birds are slightly paler than their relative, but are so similar that call and structure are better guides than plumage.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Lesser Kestrel lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Burundi, Eritrea, Guinea, Seychelles, Afghanistan, Belgium, Denmark, Poland.
When to see the Lesser Kestrel
Peak activity in April · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Bat FalconFalco rufigularisThe bat falcon is 23 to 30 cm (9.1 to 12 in) long.
Aplomado FalconFalco femoralisThe aplomado falcon is very slender, long-winged, and long-tailed, the size of a small peregrine falcon (F. peregrinus), at 30–40 cm (12–16 in) long and with an average wingspan of about 90 cm (35 in), but only half the weight, at about 208–305 g (7.3–10.8 oz) in males and 270–460 g (9.5–16.2 oz) in females.
Rock KestrelFalco rupicolusA slender, medium-sized kestrel, between 30 and 33 centimeters tall.
Side by side: Brown Falcon vs Lesser Kestrel · Bat Falcon vs Lesser Kestrel · Aplomado Falcon vs Lesser Kestrel
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