Chestnut brown upperparts, speckled breast, grey head and tail.
|Length: 25-35 cm (10-14")| |Wing Span: 60-65 cm (24-26")|
|Weight: 140-200 g (5-7 oz)|| Like the male, but more streaked
and very little grey. |Breeding Pairs: 50 000| |Present: All
Year| The Kestrel is a small, chestnut brown bird of prey that
is frequently seen hovering over grassland. The hooked bill is a
bluish colour with yellow cere. The legs are yellow. The male
(or tercel) Kestrel has black-spotted chestnut brown upperparts,
and a blue-grey head and tail. The tail has a single black bar
at the tip. Underneath, the breast and belly are buff coloured
with black spots. The female (or falcon) is darker than the male
and the back, mantle and wings all have black barring. The tail
has black barring along its length. The creamy underparts are
more heavily streaked in black than the male. Occasionally, the
head and tail may be tinged with grey. Juveniles are like
females. Kestrels are similar in size to the Sparrowhawk but
have more pointed wing