Kestrel

Name: Kestrel
Latin Name: Falco tinnunculus
Family: Falconidae
Order: Falconiformes

Characteristics:

Habitat: Lives in a wide variety of habitats and climates, up to 3,500 m in altitude. Common in human settlements. Not found in large, dense forests, large treeless marshes, sandy or rocky plains

Food: Varied, depending on habitat. In settlements, feeds mainly on small birds and larvae. In open fields it eats voles (mainly in winter) as well as mole crickets, grasshoppers and beetles

Distribution: Common in all climates, except tundra, over most of Europe and Asia, except for Southeast Asia, and in Africa, excluding the Sahara and the Congo Basin.

Distribution in Israel: The most common falcon in Israel, with an estimated population of some tens of thousands of pairs. Common mainly in the mediterranean region in Israel, especially in open areas with scattered trees or cliffs. Less common in arid areas. In the extreme desert, can be found in inhabited areas or their vicinity Most of the population in Israel is resident. It appears that the young roam until they reach maturity even migrating outside Israel, although there are no ringing data to confirm this. In winter the number of Kestrels increases, especially in the northern valleys, following the arrival of the wintering population from the north. A Kestrel ringed in Hungary was found in Israel, and a Kestrel ringed in winter in Israel was recovered in the Ukraine. Migrates singly or in small groups, often at great altitudes. In these cases it is difficult to identify and distinguish from the Red Kestrel, which resembles it. Migration occurs over the whole country, both in daytime and at night. Several hundred Kestrels are counted yearly in the raptor migration survey

Location of the nest: Does not build a nest, but rather lays its eggs in a variety of places: a niche in a wall of natural or quarried rock, in an abandoned crow’s nest, on a high tension pole, in buildings (on a windowsill, ledge, etc.), among palm branches, even in artificial nesting boxes, half-open in front. Nesting frequently occurs in the same place year after year

Eggs: Hatch over the course of a few days, covered in down. The male brings food for the whole family, and the female tears it into strips and feeds the chicks. As the chicks develop, the female gradually leaves the nest and joins the male in hunting to keep the chicks fed. At the age of 20 days the chicks are feathered and capable of eating prey brought whole to the nest. The chicks fledge at the age of 30 days, and about a month later are independent

Incubation: The eggs are generally laid between mid-March and mid-April. The female lays 3-6 eggs, usually 5, with an interval of two to three days between each one. The egg is rounded, 31x39 mm and weighs 20 g. Incubation begins close to the completion of laying and lasts 28 days. The female incubates alone and the male brings her food to the nest vicinity, and sometimes takes her place incubating while she is eating