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Dieren en planten

Birds   Birds of prey   Falcons   Kestrel   Merlin   Hobby   Peregrine   Bird Protection   

Kestrel

size:

33-39 centimeters
wingspan: 65-80 centimeters

color (adults):

male: gray-blue head and neck, red-brown back and wings with dark spots;
female: brown head and neck, red-brown back and wings with stripes and brown tail.

food:

small mammals such as voles and mice, insects, worms, frogs

threats:

shortage in food, pesticides

Dutch status:

nesting bird; seen year round

habitat

open fields, heaths, marshland

reproduction:

maturity: 1 year old
number of eggs per nest: 5-7

life span:

unknown (maximum known age: 16.5 years)

special nature:

hovers in the air in search of prey

  • Dut: Torenvalk
  • Eng: Kestrel
  • Fre: Faucon crécerelle
  • Ger: Turmfalke
  • Dan: Tirnvalk
  • Nor: Tirnfalk
  • Fries: Reade Wikel
  • Ital: Gheppio
  • Lat: Falco tinnunculus
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Kestrel, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen

Kestrel

The small raptor which appears to stand still in mid-air ('hovering') is a kestrel. It is an excellent mouse hunter. While hovering in the air, it is not necessarily looking for the animal itself but for its urine trail. Kestrels are capable of seeing ultraviolet colors, which is also found in urine. So they are able to detect the well hidden mice. They like to nest in large bird houses, specially designed for these birds.

On Texel


At the end of the 20th century, between 20 and 25 pairs of kestrels nested on Texel. The number of nesting pairs tends to fluctuate tremendously.

  • Eating from the ground
    Kestrel, foto fitis, adriaan dijksen

    Most falcon species catch their prey in the air. The kestrel is the only one that picks its victim from the ground. Eighty percent of its diet consists of common voles. When there is a shortage, they will also eat other vole or mice species, other birds and large insects, such as dung beetles. Kestrels need the equivalent of 4-8 voles per dag, depending upon their activity. They are known for catching prey and storing it for later consumption.

  • Protection
    • Monitoring: Network Ecological Monitoring
    • Policy: Target Species List
    • National legislation: Flora and Fauna Regulation
    • European Agreement: CITES ordinance
    • International: Bern Convention, Bonn Convention
  • How does a kestrel catch a mouse

    A kestrel has two ways to hunt for prey. The most common method is to hover: the bird then flies so rapidly into the wind that it stays in place above the ground. When it sees a prey, it falls out of the air and plunges onto the victim. This method costs a lot of energy, but it also has good results: one vole per half hour. The long tail is very useful for this kind of hunting. The tail helps to slow down its speed during the last seconds of the fall. If it doesn't manage to slow down, the bird will crash.

    Another method is to sit on a pole and wait till something approaches. On the average, it takes five hours before the kestrel catches a vole in this way. One advantage is that this method doesn't cost as much energy. When a kestrel has lots of energy, it will choose to hover, but when it is cold and needs lots of energy to stay warm, the bird often chooses the energy-saving method.