American Kestrel

(Falco sparverius)

Arrived at Lakeside Nature Center on January 5, 2003.

This female American Kestrel (the larger of the two females at LNC) was found as a nestling in May, 2002.  She was raised illegally as a pet until a wildlife agent rescued her in January 2003.  Due to improper caging and poor diet, she had very little feather growth and was extremely malnourished.  At Lakeside she made a full physical recovery, but remains imprinted on humans and cannot be released into the wild.

Natural history notes.

• Kestrels don't build nests of their own.  They use any cavity or protected spot to lay their eggs.
• If you look at the back of a kestrel's head, you can see two "eye spots" in their feathers.  This fools predators into thinking they've been spotted.

Check out this kestrel's picture gallery.

For more information on American Kestrels, check out the Critter Corner entry.