![]() ![]() Males also help with the process – they often bring food for the mother while she’s incubating the eggs or providing heat to the offspring. The male and the female both incubate the eggs. Male kestrels spot nesting locations and then attract female mates to these locations to breed.įemale kestrels choose males based on how good a location they chose and sometimes on the bright plumage of the male.īreeding pairs start mating at the nesting location. They nest in abandoned nest cavities such as rabbit holes, human-made nest boxes, and other birds’ old nests. Falcons, like kestrels, build their nests in cavities such as tree hollows. Hawks build their nests high up on tree tops or other higher locations away from predators. Kestrels catch their prey on the ground and bob their head and tail just before catching it. Hawks can hunt in many ways, but chasing and hunting other wild birds is unique. Instead, they hunt like felines, looking for the right moment to attack when the prey least expects it. ![]() They choose a high location to observe their prey. Conversely, Falcons have serrations on their beak (called Tomial Teeth) that tear the flesh.Īn American kestrel eats a wide variety of prey they can sustain anything from insects and lizards to small mammals such as mice. Hawks use their muscular feet and talons to kill and tear the flesh of their prey. The use of these spots is not yet clear, but some ornithologists believe these spots help birds confuse their predators. These spots are often called false eyes or Ocelli. Kestrels also have two black spots at the back of their necks. ![]() You can see two narrow black spots on the two sides of a kestrel’s face or its head. Hawks have sharp and narrow heads, while most falcons, including kestrels, have smooth and rounded heads.īoth male and female kestrels have pale blue and grey feathers on their heads. They do not get involved in long prey chases and put more energy into hunting and killing the prey in a single attack (more on this later). This is because kestrels tend to hover more rather than diving. However, kestrels have less muscular wings compared to them. Some falcons, like peregrines, have strong flight muscles. Like all falcons, kestrels have longer wings with a tapering end, which gives them a pointed look. They have brown feathers on top and on their back, while their breasts have cream and brown-colored feathers with black wings.Īs mentioned earlier, hawks have smooth round wings, while falcons possess sharp pointy wings. Female kestrels are brown all over their bodies. Their wings have stripes with a blue color at the tip. Their underside has black barring.įemale kestrels have dull, rust-colored feathers, which they use for camouflage. Their breast has white feathers with light brown spots. Male kestrels also have blue and grey feathers, but they look brighter with a bit of yellowish orange color on their backs. The underside of a hawk may have a striped pattern, a feature missing in falcons. Hawks bear gray or brown feathers, while falcons have blue-gray wings. You can tell the difference between a falcon and a hawk by the pattern of their plumage, even though they broadly have the same colors. ![]() They are between 9-10 inches long and have a maximum wing span of 22 inches. Falco Sparverius (commonly known as American kestrels) are as small as a bluejay or a mourning dove. Kestrels are smaller than the hawk sizes we mentioned. Falcons are slightly shorter and can measure between 8 to 26 inches in size. Most of the larger species are 18-30 inches in size. A hawk may be anywhere between 8 to 30 inches long. While many think that the American kestrel is part of the hawk family, hawks include only two groups of birds: Accipitrines and Buteos.Īpart from taxonomy, we will talk about many things that make kestrels falcons instead of hawks using the points of difference we pointed out earlier. Falcons and hawks are completely different birds, and you should not become confused because they look somewhat similar.įalcons consist of four groups of birds: Kestrels, Peregrines, Heiro-falcons, and Hobbies. Hawks prefer to flutter, whereas falcons like to dive. Hawks build their nests on top of trees falcons prefer holes in trees for nesting. Hawks use their strong and sharp talons to kill their prey, while falcons use their beaks. For instance, their nesting, hunting, and flight techniques are vastly different. In contrast to their wings, hawks have pointed heads, while falcons have smooth round heads. Hawks have round and short wings, but falcons are known for their long wings pointed at the tip. While most hawks have greyish plumage, falcons have black feathers. People often confuse hawks and falcons and use the two words synonymously.īut one can easily tell the difference between a hawk and a falcon, the most obvious being their size: Hawks are significantly larger than falcons, even though they have shorter wings. ![]()
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