Name:Falco tinnunculus
Alias:Kestrel, Red Hawk, Yellow Hawk, Red Kite
Outline:Bird of prey
Family:Falconiformes Falconidae Falco
length:305-360mm
Weight:173-335g
Life:12-16year
IUCN:LC
The red kestrel is one of the small birds of prey of the Falconidae family and the genus Falcon. It weighs 173-335 grams and is 305-360 mm long. It has narrow and pointed wings and a long tail. Its appearance is very similar to that of the common kestrel. The male has a blue-gray head, brick-red back and wing coverts with triangular black spots; the waist, tail coverts and tail feathers are blue-gray, the tail has a wide black sub-terminal spot and a white terminal spot, and there is a vertical downward black mustache under the eye. The chin and throat of the lower body are milky white or brownish white, and the rest of the lower body is milky yellow or brownish yellow, with black-brown vertical stripes and spots. The upper body of the female bird is brownish red from head to tail, with black-brown vertical stripes and horizontal stripes, and the lower body is milky yellow, except for the throat, it is covered with black-brown vertical stripes and spots, with black vertical stripes under the eye. The feet and toes are yellow, and the claws are black.
The kestrel often hovers in the air, searching for small vertebrates on the ground, such as mice, passerine birds, frogs, lizards, squirrels, snakes, etc. It also eats locusts, grasshoppers, crickets and other insects. The kestrel hunts during the day, mainly searching in the air, flying against the wind in the air, or flying low in search of prey. It often flaps its wings and makes a short stop in the air to observe its prey. Once it locks on the target, it folds its wings and dives down to pounce on the prey, then suddenly flies up from the ground and rises quickly into the sky. Sometimes it stands high on the cliffs and rocks, or stands on the top of the tree and the electric pole to wait, and pounces on the prey when it appears.
Call: a sharp and high call a ak yak yak yak yak.