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Kestrel Falco tinnunculus   [Linnaeus, 1758]
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   Page updated:16-January-2013
Order: Accipitriformes Family: Falconidae
BTO Codes: K., KESTR EURING No: 3040
Number in Britain: 55 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Declining
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Tips on  Identification
Status in UK: (A)  Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies: tinnunculus recorded in Britain (of 12 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 34 cm Wingspan: 76 cm Weight: M: 190 g   F: 220 g    
Scientific name from: L.: falco=falcom (from falcis=sickle, ref hooked talons) and L.: tinnulus=shrill-sounding
World Distribution: Eurasia, Africa
Habitat: Open grassland, heath, farmland, towns
Diet: Chiefly small mammals, also insects and lizards (esp in warmer areas)
TitBit: Effortlessly at height hangs his still eye / His wings hold all creation in weightless quiet / Steady as hallucination in the streaming air / While banging wind kills those stubborn hedges (Ted Hughes, The Hawk in the Rain).  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: BirdTrends   
Regional Trends: Scotland   England   English Regions
Distribution: Atlas Maps    BBS Maps
Abundance Maps: Population Density   Change in Density   Guide to Interpretation
British Population Size:
    Summer: 53 to 58 thousand pairs in 2007
    First Record: Recorded in Anglo-Saxon times [Fossil evidence from Wolstonian (penultimate) glaciation, c. 150,000 yr ago]
    Latest Survey: Clements, R. (2008) British Birds 101:228-234
    Conservation Status: AMBER because Species of European Concern,
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern: tinnunculus AMBER (European Concern)
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    Common in: Scrub, Arable Farmland
    Also found in: Pasture Farmland, Marsh, Villages
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
Migration routes: Map of foreign ringing recoveries
European Population Size:
    Summer: 290 to 440 thousand pairs   (Trend in Numbers)
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: Bern(III), Bonn(II), CITES(II)
Survey Results: Results from BirdTrack

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 39 x 31 mm Egg Weight: 21.0 g (of which 8 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 208
Clutch Size: 4 - 5 eggs 4.73 ± 0.88 (2 - 7) N = 1805
Incubation: 28- 29 days 28.61 ± 3.36 (22.5 - 36.5) N = 1805   by the: Female (occ. Male)
Fledging: 32 - 37days 33.57 ± 4.11 (25.5 - 39) N = 3751 as: Altricial, downy
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Nest Record Scheme data
First Clutches Laid: 1 May (15 Apr - 14 May)
Number of Broods: 1
See trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.690       
Juvenile Survival: 0.320 (in First-Year)  
Age at First Breeding: 1 year Typical Lifespan: 4 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 15 years 11 months 1 days (set in 2003)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics
Ring Size: E
Wing Length Sexually dimorphic (female much larger than male)
Male: 243.9 ± 8.0     Range 197.0 - 274.0 mm, (N = 176)
Female: 252.2 ± 11.5     Range 200.0 - 298.0 mm, (N = 111)
Weight Sexually dimorphic (female much larger than male)
Male: 192.8 ± 24.88 Range 119.0 - 291.0 g , (N =148)
Female: 223.0 ± 39.30 Range 100.0 - 335.0 g , (N =87)
Seasonal: Summer 211.0 ± 45.29 (N = 205)   Autumn 197.0 ± 25.82 (N = 115)   Winter 204.6 ± 28.01 (N = 253)  
Source: British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names
Common Kestrel
Gaelic: Speireag-ruadh Welsh: Cudyll Coch
Danish: Tĺrnfalk Dutch: Torenvalk
Finnish: Tuulihaukka French: Crécerelle des clochers
German: Turmfalke Hungarian: Vörös vércse
Icelandic: Turnfálki Irish: Pocaire Gaoithe
Italian: Gheppio Norwegian: Tĺrnfalk
Polish: Pustulka zwyczajna Portuguese: Peneireiro-vulgar
Spanish: Cernícalo real Swedish: Tornfalk
Local Names:Windhover

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
   Village, A. 1990 The kestrel Poyser, London [598.53 VIL]
   Village, A. 1998 BWP Update 2:121-36
   Shrubb, M. 1993 The kestrel Hamlyn, London [598.53 SHR]
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead