By Obiabin Onukwugha
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae.
It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called “kestrel”.
In the cool-temperate parts of its range, the common kestrel migrates south in winter; otherwise it is sedentary, though juveniles may wander around in search for a good place to settle down as they become mature.
Common Krestrel is a diurnal animal of the lowlands and prefers open habitat such as fields, heaths, shrubland and marshland. It does not require woodland to be present as long as there are alternative perching and nesting sites like rocks or buildings.
The common kestrel readily adapts to human settlement, as long as sufficient swathes of vegetation are available, and may even be found in wetlands, moorlands and arid savanna.
When hunting, the common kestrel characteristically hovers about 10–20 m (35–65 ft) above the ground, searching for prey, either by flying into the wind or by soaring using ridge lift. Like most birds of prey, common kestrels have keen eyesight enabling them to spot small prey from a distance. Once prey is sighted, the bird makes a short, steep dive toward the target.
Kestrels can often be found hunting along the sides of roads and motorways, where the road verges support large numbers of prey.
Scientists say, they are able to see near ultraviolet light, allowing the birds to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows as they shine in an ultraviolet colour in the sunlight.
They eat almost exclusively mouse-sized mammals. However, kestrels are more likely to prey on lizards in southern latitudes. In northern latitudes, the kestrel is found more often to deliver lizards to their nestlings during midday and also with increasing ambient temperature.
The common kestrel starts breeding in spring (or the start of the dry season in the tropics), i.e. April or May in temperate Eurasia and some time between August and December in the tropics and southern Africa.
The clutch is normally 3–7 eggs; more eggs may be laid in total but some will be removed during the laying time. This lasts about 2 days per egg laid. Incubation lasts from 4 weeks to one month, both male and female will take shifts incubating the eggs. After the eggs have hatched, the parents share brooding and hunting duties. Only the female feeds the chicks, by tearing apart prey into manageable chunks.
Although they are birds of prey, Kestrels are commonly preyed upon by larger predators. They are so small, in fact, that they often eat insects and are eaten in turn by predators as small as corn snakes.
Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age though the biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more. One Krestrel was recorded to have lived almost for 24 years.
In Native American traditions, the kestrel is connected with sharp wittedness, patience, hunting prowess, and stoicism. Like many other birds of prey, the kestrel can also be connected with power, justice, and the forces of nature.
Celtic culture associates the kestrel with its incredible and effortless flying ability. This bird is a symbol of the joy and wildness of the vast and untamable sky.
Falcons and kestrels are associated with sovereignty, rebirth, protection, and vision in the mythic traditions of the ancient Egyptians. Kestrels were so important to the Egyptians, in fact, that several examples of mummified kestrels have been found.