Skip to main content

Beak of the Week - American Kestrel

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Family: Falconiformes

The American Kestrel is the smallest yet most numerous and colorful of the North American falcons. It was once referred to as the sparrow hawk because of its small size and its occasional sparrow snack. Unlike many raptors, which may prove difficult distinguishing male and females, it is quite easy to discern male and female kestrels. Both sport a white face with vertical black stripes and a short hooked bill, but the female has rufous orange wings while the male has blue-gray wings and an unbarred tail.

Kestrels are found as far north as Canada down to South America’s Tierra del Fuego. In Texas, at least two subspecies occur as residents, F. s. sparverius and F s. paulus. Kestrels tend to avoid dense woodlands and can be found perching on power lines or fencing in open or lightly wooded spaces such as grasslands, deserts, parks, pastures, and urban/suburban areas. When spotted on a fence post or similar object you may be able to catch them bobbing their tail up and down for balance.

In the breeding season male kestrels will defend a territory. Kestrels are usually lifetime monogamous pairs and once a mate is chosen, the pair will begin hunting, courtship-feeding, and looking for a nest. These falcons do not make their own nest or use any materials, instead they are secondary cavity nesters. Males will seek out natural-made cavities, artificial cavities, or nest boxes. Females will typically lay a single clutch with 3 to 5 white eggs with brown markings.

Squirrels are not the only ones who you see hiding their food, Kestrels do it, too! These birds will hide food in any kind of hole or crevice for hard times or just to keep away thieves temporally. Unlike humans that see color in combinations of three color, birds can see color in combinations of four colors which includes ultraviolet light, a spectrum invisible to humans and other mammals. This ability makes it easier for them to hunt animals such as rodents. What do they see you ask? A urine trail! During the cooler months, American Kestrels can be found on power lines, fields, or forest edges.

Our Beak of the Week is one of 12 birds featured in Confluence, a public art installation currently in progress along the Bayou Greenway trail at the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous. The 223-foot mural, created by artist Jane Kim, founder of Ink Dwell Studio, showcases the birds that call Houston's bayous home. Confluence is commissioned by Houston Parks Board and hosted in collaboration with Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Houston Audubon is pleased to provide ornithological expertise and collaborate on programming and promotion of the mural. Learn more about Confluence here. 

📸 Bird photos by Greg Lavaty, 'Confluence' photo by Anthony Rathbun

---
Visit our Bird Gallery to read about other Texas birds!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to DIY a Dripper for birds

Are you running out of home projects to keep busy during the quarantine? Here’s one my hubby made for me that you can try: a DYI Dripper. I’ve long wanted a bird dripper to complement my yard’s wildlife habitat, and with spring migrants on the way, I was keen to provide a drip that will attract new birds that don’t visit feeders. I had a problem though. There is no water line or power source near my feeders. The idea of stringing a hose or wire across the driveway just isn’t practical. Enter the engineer. My husband thought about the location and the limitations for a bit, and came up with the concept of sourcing water for a dripper off the sprinkler system. By using a toilet tank that fills every time the sprinklers run, water can be constantly available for the drip. I nixed the idea of a toilet tank sitting in my yard though, so he made some aesthetic modifications by installing a toilet tank float inside a 5 gallon bucket hidden inside a custom wooden box with a handsome copper p
Post a Comment
Read more

Beak of the Week - Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron ( Nyctanassa violacea ) Family: Ardeidae Our Beak of the Week is the official Bird of Houston , the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron! This seemingly hunch-backed bird can be a difficult one to spot. Both species of North American night-herons, yellow-crowned and black-crowned, forage mainly at night and spend most of the day hidden among branches near a body of water. These two birds can be differentiated easily by their plumage on and around their head. The most obvious difference is stated in their names: Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a yellow crown and Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black crown. But that’s not the only difference! Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a black head and face with a distinct thick white cheek stripe, whereas Black-crowned Night-Herons have a black head with gray on their face that extends down the whole front of the body. Yellow-crowned Night Herons also have a gray front and neck, but it contrasts greatly with their facial patter
Post a Comment
Read more

Houston, we have an announcement. We’re now a Bird City!

We know that Houston is a vital city for birds, but now it’s official . Houston Audubon’s Conservation Team worked tirelessly in partnership with Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) Natural Resources Program to submit the application, and it paid off. Houston was honored as one of the first four cities to receive the Bird City Texas certification – an inaugural program by Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). So, what exactly does being a Bird City mean? The big picture is that we have demonstrated that our community cares about birds, habitat, and conservation. The growing popularity of planting native plants, restoring prairies, bird-friendly education programs, and the Houston Lights Out for Birds program to reduce collisions for migrating birds were among the many efforts and programs that got us this designation. ( Go Houstonians! ) I personally witnessed the large amount of work that went into this application and was curious about
Post a Comment
Read more