5 Facts About American Kestrels

Did you know that kestrels hover in midair before going in on their prey? We invited Rita McMahon and Coral, the non-releasable American Kestrel, from Wild Bird Fund to teach us 5 cool facts about these tiny-but-fierce predators.
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[@cynthia949]

I love how she's sleepy at the end. So cute

[@raptorfalconry]

That’s not a good thing, that’s not normal kestrel behavior. General an indicator of illness.

[@cynthia949]

@@raptorfalconry ...that's too bad

[@UltraMagaFan]

The American Kestrel is hands down my favorite falcon. I love these little birds.

[@KryptosArt]

that is one smol cutie.

[@snowisthebestweather]

Yeah, and the Kestrel is too.

[@krazeekimo]

I rescued my kestrel 'Anakin ' from a busy city street...he'd fallen from his nest in a church steeple as a fledgling. Cars passed over top of him, i stopped traffic to save him. Got yelled at a lot...but none of the raptor-rehabs could take him...it was a hard year and the re-habs were all full. He was raised by me and imprinted on me...a lovely friend true and loyal...and kept the house free of bugs and pests...he lived in a large wooden dollhouse on top of a high wall unit...he was good with my kids too....we loved him right back.

[@brysenstrowder5178]

You can keep them as pets?! What was it like taking care of them??

[@krazeekimo]

@@brysenstrowder5178 it was fantastic. Extremely intelligent and loving. Because I was closest to him, he 'imprinted' on me. I effectively became his mommy. Every dawn I'd go to feed him and he'd fluff up like a baby and cry to be fed. His basic diet was chunky cat food. He was caged at night for his safety and let out in the day. Kept our house free of bugs and bathed in the cat's water dishes. I tried to train him outside, but he wanted to bring me every sparrow he could find. He was great with the kids, ignored the cats and was a good friend.

[@brysenstrowder5178]

@@krazeekimo Did you get registered as a falconer or get the proper permits of license to keep them

[@krazeekimo]

@@brysenstrowder5178 No I didn't. The deal here, (ON.Canada) is that, to legally 'own' a Falcon/Hawk/Kestrel is that you have to be sponsored by a mentor with a bird, for up to a year. Then you can apply for a license before you can have one. Since I rescued it and none of the Rehabs I contacted would take it, I technically had it illegally. The only other option was to euthanize him, which I didn't want to do.

[@krazeekimo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqbZi42ajat9l7M

[@zee4265]

Had a kestrel land on my back pack and literally just hang out with me for an hour today… was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had with an animal. Literally has me going down a rabbit hole researching falconry.

[@pearspeedruns]

You’re the chosen one.

[@TragedyASkates]

They are definitely making a comeback on the AL gulf coast. I’ve lived here all of my life and have never seen one until recently. Now, there are several nesting in our neighborhood. We see and hear them daily.

[@nate_mccallister]

My favorite bird :)

[@rustysteam]

I love birds, and I watched 2 Kestrels this morning.

[@jonaskatona7136]

I once saw a kestrel perched on a lamppost right by the 5 Freeway just southeast of downtown Los Angeles in a very urban area. These creatures are incredibly adaptable!

[@KateG-ei4se]

I went to let my puppy into the backyard one time back in January and there was a pair of Kestrels on the ground next to a tree. They were facing each other and had their wings out and just kept having this staredown with each other. Then they finally started going at it (fighting or the alternative, not sure which) but they flew off once I opened the back door. Was a cool thing to watch in my own backyard and since then I have been watching the birds in general and noticed that there is a Kestrel that likes to perch on the power line across the street and hang out there. Occasionally he/she will chase down smaller birds and go back to chilling.

[@paradoxinmotion]

"the hummingbird of the raptor family"

[@richardroddenberry2079]

Only birdhouse I ever made was for a Kestrel in southern Idaho. Was great fun to see one be raised up in the house I built. Got motivated at Snake River Morley Nelson Birds of Prey National sanctuary outside Boise, ID.

[@pl2996]

that guest seems very sweet. the bird as well.

[@gtaclevelandcity]

Cutest little murder machine.

[@David-rx2to]

Years ago we had a male American Kestrel fly into one of the windows at our home and stun itself. We picked it up and put it in a cardboard box and called the local Audubon Society. They said to keep it overnight, don't feed it or give it anything to drink and in the morning, take the box outside and open the lid. The fear was it's legs might be broken since it probably contacted the window talons first. If it's legs were broken, it wouldn't fly away, since it would need to jump a bit to get out of the box and start to fly. If it didn't fly away, then something was wrong and then we could take it somewhere for attention. Thankfully, it flew away in the morning, perched on a tree across the street for a moment, and then flew off. I couldn't of imagined a more beautiful bird. The colors were magnificent. The female in this video was rather mono-chromatic by comparison.

[@krazeekimo]

I'm glad you took the time to help a wild animal in need... bless you!

[@carl3neschag237]

aw so cute!

[@sheilayoung4043]

I had one land on my patio and was chirping to me a good 10 minutes

[@captcan78]

Very interesting to see an American Kestrel, since all I see here are European Kestrels, which are quite a bit taller. Thanks for that video

[@chein33]

Here in Maine 2020, we have in our yard a mom, dad and two baby's, I have been watching them catch mice and set on a Telephon pole and feed the youngins, very fascinating dirds. Thank for the video.

[@kipwonder2233]

Kristine is GORGEOUS🤩. The kestrel was cool too👍

[@Asertix357]

I miss my kestrel.

[@timsmith3621]

This bird, pound for pound, might be the mightiest of them all. Very informative video.

[@jimf1964]

Their numbers sure aren't going down around Montreal. I was shocked to see one in my neighbourhood years ago, and now there's 2 pairs just with in a few blocks, and at a park not far away some more.....they're all around

[@opwave79]

I want to see a windsurfing kestrel!! That would be awesome!

[@CambiDred17]

I have a male female pair in my neighbourhood. I’m a bird watcher so it’s distressing to see them. But magical in its own way

[@Mitch3lT0mas]

I always thought they'd be bigger

[@jonaskatona7136]

0:22 Wait, but aren't the Falconiformes (including kestrels) pretty distantly related to other birds of prey? I thought that hawks, vultures, kites, and osprey were related (Accipitriformes), then owls in their own separate family (Strigiformes), and finally falcons (like the kestrel) are related to parrots, songbirds (passerines), and terror birds.

[@zanerichards8348]

So tiny and so amazing. I'm always looking for them along the roads where I live.

[@maryksmith9153]

Me, too, in Eastern WA!

[@Lexusgx550]

I want one

[@morgan1719]

Well done! Definitely not stiff an awkward 😅

[@gobofraggel7383]

I feed Sparrows on my balcony and today I heard a scream and looked out to see my favorite little Sparrow Tucker under the Kestrel's talon and I saw the Kestrel take his first bite which was just a few feathers. I opened the balcony and ran out expecting the Kestrel to fly off but it just looked at me and looked back at his catch. I then stomped my foot and shouted and the Kestrel and Tucker flew off in different directions.

[@daniellehner1383]

This video is very interesting and informative. I enjoyed this video to the fullest. Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Switzerland.

[@kevinhiggins7257]

With an outside world in disarray, do we harbour them safe as say, bide over time together ❤️

[@tradethenasdaq]

Oh my, I thought they were at least the size of a crow due to the pictures I’ve seen! They look the size of a robin!

[@twothreebravo]

They're in fact the smallest raptor in North America

[@noahs0763]

0:50 awwwww

[@belaiditaoufik]

Not always I think. For the hovering to become a possibility, there should gather particular conditions in the air that are not there all the time. The bird would starve if he relies solely on hovering. I have seen him plunging down to catch some prey, starting from a rest position.

[@jfphotography69]

Same here.

[@masguapoako]

*Kestrel's grows fast that when I missed a week of visiting them, they went from only the head is visible to them standing outside the nest*

[@poppy2443]

One of these was chilling on my window ceil today and started trying to fly inside. I’m not really a spiritual person, but it was so strange I feel like it meant something lol. Also, she tried to peck bird poop on the window so I laughed when you guys said they aren’t picky eaters 😂

[@beyerdr]

I have 3 falcons in my yard here in Alaska. They sound like Kestral but they seem to be far too big. From some videos I've seen Peregrine sound similar, my best guess is a breeding pair with a kiddo that's gotta be several months old, and they are still together because they will be migrating south soon? The last part of this video will be helpful in confirming what sort they are next time I get a close look. It's pretty cool to watch them. Wishful thinking that they'll come back to my area when they come back next spring if they are migrating.

[@kalashnikovdevil]

Interestingly the American Kestrel is probably not a Kestrel in the taxonomic sense. Wonderful little creatures though.

[@captainbryce1]

TwoHeavens They are called American Kestrels because they resemble Common Kestrels both in size/physical appearance, and behavior/hunting style. They are the only raptor in America that can hover. Based on that and their appearance, they were initially presumed to be related to Common Kestrels. Only DNA evidence discovered later proved otherwise. The American Kestrel and Common Kestrel are examples of convergent evolution.

[@samuell208]

They hover so still it’s like gps

[@seosamh7486]

The National Audubon society and she says "claws" 🙉

[@thevampirecielphantomhive2342]

Mini falcon

[@crystalchavez4576]

Do any live in Nevada I think saw one in Las Vegas I thought it was a parrot at first

[@maryksmith9153]

They are actually related to parrots! Strange, no? But true...

[@michaelleavenworth5021]

Look at the color of "Coral's" cere and legs... Should be bright yellow if young and healthy. And dark yellow or even orange as a healthy adult. And she was so lethargic! Other commentors were saying it was cute that she was sleepy, but to me it was alarming because she should have been wide eyed, head bobbing and quickly looking around, and preening herself. With all that considered I'd say, IMHO, she looks severely malnourished. I wonder if she is getting sun, vitamin powder on her food, and whole small birds in her diet...

[@coffeehugger]

The bird she has there looks strange, is it a juvenile?

[@SlimWu]

Is it possible to keep American Kestrel in house?

[@maryksmith9153]

It is illegal without special permits & training.

[@jfphotography69]

I have been watching one at one of my local parks do his hunting routine hovering over the fields. This is him. flic.kr/p/2i97t8k flic.kr/p/2i96Tkv And this is him hovering looking for some lunch. photos.app.goo.gl/qPhSMwNduRMwDnA58 photos.app.goo.gl/9iTZKVyEUJtXq6rs5

[@Christopher_Station]

They are so cute at the time they become predator awfully.

[@emmekii8868]

"CREAM" BY DAVID FIRTH ANYONE???😃

[@neko-chan5593]

Nothings cool about being short

[@tHEdANKcRUSADER]

She said “Coup de gras” . (gras like as in Madri Gras(Fat Tuesday)) that translates to “Strike of fat” It’s pronounced “Coup de Grace” as in Grace, like in English “Strike of Grace(mercy)” Super common Mispronunciation of the phrase