For details point at or click the
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names
Trends & Distribution
Breeding & Survival
Biometrics
Books & Links
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:
Least Concern
View video clips from
IBC
Status in UK:
(A) Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies:
tinnunculus recorded in Britain (of 12 subsp. in the world)
.
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:
Regional Trends:
Distribution:
New Atlas )
British Population Size:
Summer:
53 to 58 thousand pairs
in 2007
First Record:
8th Century
[Fossil evidence from
Wolstonian (penultimate) glaciation, c. 150,000 yr ago]
Latest Survey:
Clements, R. (2008) British Birds 101:228-234
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
Common in:
Scrub, Arable Farmland
Also found in:
Pasture Farmland, Marsh, Villages
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
European Population Size:
Summer:
290 to 440 thousand pairs
(Trend in Numbers )
Birds in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
Bern(III), Bonn(II), CITES(II)
Survey Results:
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 (23 - 37) N = 1805
by the:
Female (occ. Male)
Fledging:
32 - 37 days
33.57 ± 4.11 (26 - 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
Trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed:
1857
Adult Survival:
No data
Juvenile Survival:
No data
Age at First Breeding:
1
year
Typical Lifespan:
No data
Maximum Recorded Age:
15yr11m
(Denmark: 16yr 5m)
Biometrics
Ring Size:
E
Wing Length
Adult:
247.4 ± 10.5
Range
233 - 262 mm, N =292
Juvenile:
245.6 ± 15.8
210 - 264 mm, N =239
Male:
243.8 ± 8.0
232 - 256 mm, N =176
Female:
252.8 ± 11.5
235 - 265 mm, N =111
Weight
Adult:
205.5 ± 33.35
Range
160.0 - 273.0 g , N =239
Juvenile:
199.1 ± 30.21
159.0 - 248.0 g , N =187
Male:
195.9 ± 24.88
164.0 - 245.0 g , N =148
Female:
220.5 ± 39.30 .
159.0 - 281.0 g , N =87
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:
BirdFacts home | BTO Home birdfacts@bto.org These data should be cited as:
© British Trust for Ornithology, | Privacy Statement
button; for sources point at the 
button
Other Names
