The American Kestrel

by Kathy Kelly

Title

The American Kestrel

Artist

Kathy Kelly

Medium

Mixed Media - Mixed Media

Description

Portrait of an American Kestrel. I love Kestrels. Not only are they the smallest and most common raptor in North America, they are also one of the most colorful. This male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast handsomely with his rusty-red back and tail. The females are mostly reddish brown lacking the slate blue coloring on the wings. Both sexes have the black vertical markings on their faces.

Photographed in Maryland, this male searches the meadow for mice and grasshoppers. Fortunately for photographers, Kestrels like exposed perches such as telephone poles, wires, fence posts, and dead branches on trees. That said, they only about the size of a Mourning Dove and often end up as prey for larger birds. This one watched nervously as a Red-tailed Hawk flew by.

Kestrels are swift, erratic fliers, and can travel at up to 39 mph and can dive at speeds up to 60 mph preferring to snatch their victims from the ground. They have the long, swept back wings that are typical of falcons, allowing them to be very maneuverable in the air.

They eat snakes, lizards, bats, smaller birds, mice, voles, and insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas and dragonflies.

Featured in the following groups:

Paintography
Kingdom Animalia
Wildlife One a Day
Wildlife Paintings

Uploaded

August 31st, 2019

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Viewed 447 Times  -  Last Visitor from Cupertino, CA on 04/16/2024 at 3:32 AM

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