Birds of Prey. 



127 



THE LESSER 

 KESTREL. 



{Cerchneis cenchris.) 



'ii 



The Lesser Kestrel. 



The male of this bird differ.s from 

 that of the Common Kestrel not only 

 in its smaller size, but by the absence 

 of black spots on the back, and it 

 may also be told by its whitish claws. This latter 

 character also determines the female from the hen of 

 the Common Kestrel. 



The present species is common in Southern Europe 

 m summer, and extends to Southern Russia and Central 

 Asia, wintering in South Africa, whither it goes in large 

 flocks with other small Falcons in pursuit of the locust- 

 swarms. It has been met with in Yorkshire, m the 

 Scilly Islands, and near Dover, in England, and in Co. 

 Dublin in Ireland. It is more entirely an insect-feeder 



than the Common Kestrel, but otherwise resembles that species in its habits. It 

 breeds in large colonies in the South of Europe, in holes of ruins and in church - 

 towers, or in holes in the ground. No nest is made, and the eggs, four to seven in 

 number, resemble those of the Common Kestrel, but are smaller and paler rufous, 

 inclining more to a cinnamon tint ; they do not exceed one-and-a-half inches in 

 length, and are generally not more than one-and-a-quarter inches. 



This pretty little Kestrel has been obtained more than 

 twenty times in Great Britain, and has occurred in various 

 counties from Cornwall to Northumberland. Three examples 

 have been recorded from Scotland, and one from Ireland. It 

 is an inhabitant of South-eastern Europe, and occurs from 

 Hungary to the Volga and thence to the Valle\' of tne Yenesei. 

 In winter it visits Africa, passing down the Nile Valley to South-western Africa. 

 The male of the Red-footed Kestrel is easily distinguished by its grey plumage 

 and rufous thighs, but the female is quite different from the male, and more resembles 

 a Hobby in appearance, being grey banded with black above, with the head rufous. 

 The under surface of the body is also rufous. The young birds resemble the old 

 females, but have rufous margins to the feathers of the upper surface. 



In habits the present species resembles the other small Kestrels, and feeds entirely 

 on insects. It builds no nest but adapts the old nest of a Rook or some other bird to 

 its wants, and breeds in companies. The eggs are like those of the Common 

 Kestrel, but are more of a yellowish red colour and are smaller, tlie length being 

 from one-and-a-quarter to one-and-a-half inches. 



THE 



RED-FOOTED 



KESTREL. 



{Cei'chneis 

 vespi'ytina.) 



