The American Kestrel 



No. 322 



American Kestrel 



A. O. U. No. 360. Cerchneis sparverius sparverius (Linnaeus). 



Synonyms. — Sparrow Hawk. Rusty-crowned Falcon. Desert Sparrow 

 Hawk. 



Description. — Adult male: Top of head slaty blue, with a rufous crown- 

 patch; sides of head and throat white, a black stripe from the lower eye-lid anteriorly, 

 proceeding obliquely downward; a similar transverse bar on the side of the neck, and 

 a dab on either side and sometimes in the middle of the cervix; back, scapulars, and tail 

 rusty red; strong black bars in variable quantity across the middle of the back and lower 

 scapulars, or rarely reaching cervix; a heavy subterminal black band on tail, the cen- 

 tral feathers tipped with rufous and the others with white; the wing-coverts and inner 

 quills (including secondaries) slaty blue, the former black-spotted and the latter crossed 

 by a heavy black bar; primaries blackish, the point of wing formed by the 2nd and 3rd, 

 the 1st sharply emarginate on the inner web, the 2nd slightly so; all the wing-quills 

 heavily spotted with white on the inner webs, these spots confluent in bars on the 

 under surface; below whitish or slightly tinged with buffy, immaculate on lower belly, 

 flanks, and crissum; cross-barred with black on axillaries; heavily dusky-spotted on 

 lining of wings; elsewhere (save on throat, as noted above) lightly tinged or heavily 

 shaded with rufous, — the fore-breast usually but not always unmarked, the sides and 

 middle belly very lightly or quite heavily spotted with black. Bill bluish black; cere 

 and feet yellow. Young male: Similar to adult, but lower scapulars and wing-quills 

 lightly tipped with white; not so heavily shaded with rufous below. Adult female: 

 Subsimilar, but wings like the back; the black barring regular and continuous over 

 entire back, wings (except quills), and tail, the tail having ten or twelve bars, but the 

 subterminal bar often larger; barring indicated narrowly across upper tail-coverts; 

 below ochraceous-tinged as to ground, heavily and boldly streaked on breast and sides 

 with rusty brown; the sides sometimes barred with blackish. Young female: "Similar 

 to adult, but colors softer, deeper, and more blended" (Ridgway). Adult male: length 

 222.3-266.7 (8.75-10.50); av. of nine specimens: wing 183.9 (7- 2 4); tail 117.6 (4.63); 

 bill 12.7 (.50). Adult female: length 228.6-304.8 (9.00-12.00); av. of eight specimens: 

 wing 190.5 (7.50); tail 128.5 (5-°°) ; bill 13.2 (.52). 



Recognition Marks. — Robin size; but appearing larger. The black markings 

 about head and rufous of upperparts distinctive. 



Nesting. — Nest: In hollow trees, often in deserted woodpecker holes or in 

 crannies of cliffs. Eggs: 4 to 6; basally white, sprinkled, spotted, or blotched with 

 cinnamon, orange-cinnamon, or dark rufous (kaiser brown), often uniformly washed 

 with dilutions of the same pigments, or at least so heavily sprinkled as to appear uniform 

 pinkish buff, pale pinkish buff, pinkish cinnamon, or orange-cinnamon. Av. of 16 

 sets in the M. C. O. coll.: 34.5 x 27.7 (1.36 x 1.09); index 80. Season: April-June, 

 according to altitude; one brood. 



Range of Cerchneis sparverius. — North and South America. 



Range of C. s. sparverius. — North America. Breeds from central Yukon, 

 northwestern Mackenzie, southern Keewatin, and Newfoundland, south to the Gulf 

 States, Durango, and southern California. Winters from British Columbia, Colorado, 

 Kansas, Ohio, and Massachusetts, south to Guatemala and Costa Rica. 



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