American Kestrel
Description: Male: Bluish cap and wings with rusty back and tail. spots on belly and barring on tail are also clear. Female: Larger than male, but features duller. Blues of male are more gray and the rusty colors are drained of intensity.
Nest: No nesting materials, eggs are laid in natural or unnatural cavities or old woodpecker holes. One nest I found was in a hole in a barn roof. Nest boxes of the appropriate size are accepted.
Eggs: 4-5 tan-white eggs with gray and brown markings.
Diet: Large insects, mice, voles, shrews and small birds. Male often feeds female as a courtship ritual. Kestrels can hover above the ground for a long time, watching for movement below them.
Habitat: Open country, they live near fields, roadsides and farmlands. It is a common sight to see a kestrel on a power line. In migration they are fairly common anywhere, flying high.
Nest: No nesting materials, eggs are laid in natural or unnatural cavities or old woodpecker holes. One nest I found was in a hole in a barn roof. Nest boxes of the appropriate size are accepted.
Eggs: 4-5 tan-white eggs with gray and brown markings.
Diet: Large insects, mice, voles, shrews and small birds. Male often feeds female as a courtship ritual. Kestrels can hover above the ground for a long time, watching for movement below them.
Habitat: Open country, they live near fields, roadsides and farmlands. It is a common sight to see a kestrel on a power line. In migration they are fairly common anywhere, flying high.