American Kestrel Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  The slender American Kestrel is roughly the size and shape of a Mourning Dove, although it has a larger head; longer, narrow wings; and long, square-tipped tail. In flight, the wings are often bent and the wingtips swept back.

  Relative Size

  Mourning Dove-sized; slightly smaller than a Merlin

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 8.7-12.2 in (22-31 cm)
    • Weight: 2.8-5.8 oz (80-165 g)
    • Wingspan: 20.1-24.0 in (51-61 cm)

  © Jacob Drucker / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  American Kestrels are pale when seen from below and warm, rusty brown spotted with black above, with a black band near the tip of the tail. Males have slate-blue wings; females’ wings are reddish brown. Both sexes have pairs of black vertical slashes on the sides of their pale faces—sometimes called a “mustache” and a “sideburn."

• Behavior

  American Kestrels usually snatch their victims from the ground, though some catch quarry on the wing. They are gracefully buoyant in flight, and are small enough to get tossed around in the wind. When perched, kestrels often pump their tails as if they are trying to balance.
• Habitat

  American Kestrels occupy habitats ranging from deserts and grasslands to alpine meadows. You’re most likely to see them perching on telephone wires along roadsides, in open country with short vegetation and few trees.