Lesser Kestrel: description, habitat and lifestyle
A very common bird of prey, from the firstlook like a dove - a kestrel kestrel. The name is explained by ornithologists. 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.
Falcon of the kestrel (steppe, common): description
Kestrel and steppe are very similarbetween themselves. 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. Vivid distinction of the steppe falcon is white claws. The kestrel can hang in the sky for a long time. But for this purpose it constantly flutters with wings. A steppe falcon hangs motionless. And these birds prefer to live in colonies. They like to eat by insects, while the kestrel catches and eats rodents, rarely large insects.
Ordinary
Lesser kestrel is a rather modest birdcoloring. 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 eyes cometo help the bird in obtaining food. In kestrel, vision is sharper than in humans, more than 2.6 times. If people had the same, the oculist checklist would easily read from 90 meters! Specialists say that a small falcon sees ultraviolet radiation very well. This gives him the opportunity to recognize the remains of rodents urine on the ground or grass. Due to this, an ordinary kestrel can unmistakably track down and kill these animals without much effort. Family Falcon - this is the family to which the kestrel belongs. The detachment in 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 shape of a diamond. His tail and part of his 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 young male kestrel first remindscolor to the female. 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 in color, and in adults - yellow. The tail is rounded, because the tail feathers are short. The wings of adult individuals cover tail feathers, on dense yellow legs 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 vyut couples. Less often you can meet several pairs next to or even a colony, but not more than 10 birds.
Lesser kestrel nests prefer onnot 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 easily throws out the masters and settles itself. The chosen nest symbolically completes several branches.
Egg laying and incubation
Depending on the weather, lay eggsthe common 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.
Number and enemies
In recent years, kestrelwas subjected to large-scale ringing. Due to what ornithologists found out that the bird can be nomadic, expressly migratory or sedentary. This behavior of the 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.
