Lesser Kestrel: description, habitat and lifestyle

A very common bird of prey, at first sight resembling a dove - a kestrel kestrel. The name ornithologists explain this. Since ancient times hunting has always been popular in Russia, in which gyrfalcon, saker and sparrowhawk always took part. Tried ancient hunters to accustom this bird, but all is 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 - kestrel. Ornithological name of the bird is tinnunculus. She received it because of her voice. Singing resembles the sound of "ti-ti-ti". Height and color depend on the situation. The Latin name in translation means "ringing" or "sonorous".

Falcon Kestrel (steppe, common): description

Lesser kestrel and common are very similar. Steppe Falcon is much smaller, but at the same time much prettier. Photographers prefer to shoot this bird in flight, especially the male. He has unmatched bright wings. Steppe kestrel bright red, without any spots and motley points. Head of bluish-gray shades, and on the wedge-shaped tail a black border. The bright distinction of the steppe falcon is white claws. Kestrel in the sky kestrel can last for a long time. But for this constantly fluttering wings. A steppe falcon hangs motionless. And these birds prefer to live in colonies. They like to feed on insects, while the kestrel catches and eats rodents, rarely large insects.

This bird is found in Africa and Eurasia. And in Russia, one of the most popular falcons, inhabiting the Southern Urals, the Altai, the Transcaucasus - an ordinary kestrel. The habitat and lifestyle of the falcon are well studied. A bird is spread almost throughout the whole territory of our country, except for the tundra. Loves, of course, more floodplain banks of large rivers, forest-steppe and small forest belts. Dense forest massifs are not for her, as she extracts food in open space.

Last years the civilization actively absorbs natural habitat of a small falcon, therefore it "has moved" and perfectly was arranged in megacities of Europe. And the closeness of man does not frighten him at all.

Ordinary

Lesser kestrel is a rather modest bird. A small falcon feeds on lizards, mice and sometimes large insects. In pursuit of prey can fly almost above the ground and long to look out for prey. Having noticed this, the bird begins to wave its wings frequently, hangs and sharply dives down.

Vision

Strong claws on the paws and sharp eyesight come to the aid of the bird in obtaining food. In kestrel, eyesight is sharper than in humans, more than 2.6 times. If people had the same, the ophthalmologist's checklist would easily read from 90 meters! Experts say that a small falcon can see ultraviolet radiation very well. This gives him the opportunity to recognize the remains of urine rodents on the ground or grass. Thanks to which it is possible to trace and kill these animals unmercifully without any special effort, an ordinary kestrel. Family Falcon - this is the family to which the kestrel belongs. The detachment of her, as you know, Falcon, and the family - Falcons.

Female and male

This bird has a pronounced sexual dimorphism. Female from the male is easy to distinguish by the color of the head. Male has light gray shades of color of head feathers. Head of a simple brown color. On the back there are poorly discernible black spots, mostly in the form of a diamond. Its tail and part of the back near the tail cover bright light gray feathers. The end of the tail is bordered by black strips with a white edging. Under it are cream feathers and barely noticeable spots of light brown hue. Feathers of the abdomen and wings are almost white.

The female differs from the male in a beautiful transverse dark stripe running across the entire back. The tail has a brownish tint, with a lot of transverse strips and a clear edging at the end. The abdomen from below is strewn with spots and is much darker.

The young male kestrel first resembles a female in color. Only the wings are slightly shorter and more rounded. Flight feathers are decorated with light edges. Thickening of the beak and eye ring in young - from tender blue to light green, and in adults - yellow. The tail is rounded, because the tail feathers are short. The wings of adults cover the tail feathers, on the densely yellow legs are very dark claws. The weight of the kestrel is just over 200 grams, the male can barely reach 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?

From winter habitats, a small falcon arrives in mid-April-early May. Nest in pairs. Less often you can meet a few pairs near or even a colony, but not more than 10 birds.

Lesser kestrel nests prefer on not very open edges and even on power lines. Less often, her home can be found on small rocks or rivers, along steep banks. The structure of the nest is not occupied, like most falcons, but finds unoccupied nests abandoned by magpies, rooks or crows. Sometimes a kestrel family can be found in a hollow on a separate tree, and it does not matter that the hollow was non-empty. The bird simply throws out the hosts and settles itself. The chosen nest symbolically completes several branches.

Egg laying and incubation

Depending on the weather, laying eggs ordinary kestrel begins near the end of April. The female incubates about five brightly colored, ocher-colored eggs in speckles. But ornithologists found nests with 8 or more eggs. Kestrel kestrel is only once a year. In rare cases of death of all eggs, the bird can still make one clutch. Only female breeds offspring. The male is working on subsistence.

Offspring

Chicks appear after a month. They can hear and see right away. Appearing in the light, the small falcon chicks are covered with delicate white fluff and the same white have a beak and claws. In case of possible danger, they lie on their backs, exposing sharp claws upwards, or simply lie on the bottom of the nest. Parents both actively engage in offspring. Appetite in children "serious." Meals require a lot and often. For one day during the rearing of offspring, two parents destroy more than twenty small rodents! At this fertile time they bring invaluable benefits to farmers and growers. And they say that it is an "empty" bird. Errors, because its contribution to the preservation of the crop is great! Young kestrel common slowly changes color of plumage 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 falcon cubs are ready for the first flight. At this time, you can see "gymnastic exercises" on the edge of the nest. Soon, the kestrel of the kestrel will become on the wing and in the end of September - the beginning of October they will go with their parents to wintering places.

Number and enemies

In recent years, the kestrel ordinary was subjected to large-scale ringing. Due to what ornithologists found out that the bird can be nomadic, expressly migratory or sedentary. This behavior of kestrel is influenced only by the food base in its habitats. The main migration routes of the falcon lie in southern Europe. Very often they were seen in Spain, Poland, Belgium, Germany and even in North Africa.

There are no enemies of this bird, well, unless a man. In the seventies of the last century for a good reward it was possible to hand over its paws. The number of ordinary kestrel sharply fell. The reason for this is the great trust of birds towards man. Since the beginning of 2000, the number of kestrels has been on the same level.