American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
Summary 6
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It varies in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove. It also ranges to South America, and is a well established species that has evolved seventeen subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the Americas. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size and plumage. In size, females are about 10% to 15% larger than males. Males are rusty on the back with blue-gray wings, while females are rusty on back and wings. They can be spotted year round in the COSA
Sources and Credits
- (c) PhotoJeff, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/61123283@N00/2040920980/
- (c) Steven Mlodinow, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Steven Mlodinow
- (c) Dilson Santos, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dlopes76/8557838650/
- (c) carnifex, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by carnifex
- (c) Alejandro Bayer Tamayo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Falco_sparverius_(Cern%C3%ADcalo)_-_Flickr_-_Alejandro_Bayer_(2).jpg
- Adapted by dirstine from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falco_sparverius
_-_Flickr_-_Alejandro_Bayer_(2).jpg){kind=link}