Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Falconiformes > Falconidae > Falco > Falco sparverius

Falco sparverius (American Kestrel)

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Wikipedia Abstract

The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has about a two to one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove. It also ranges to South America, and is a well established species that has evolved seventeen subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the Americas. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size (females being moderately larger) and plumage, although both sexes have a rufous back with noticeable barring. Its plumage is colorful and attractive, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults.
View Wikipedia Record: Falco sparverius

Infraspecies

Falco sparverius aequatorialis
Falco sparverius brevipennis
Falco sparverius caribaearum
Falco sparverius caucae
Falco sparverius cearae
Falco sparverius cinnamominus
Falco sparverius dominicensis
Falco sparverius fernandensis
Falco sparverius isabellinus
Falco sparverius nicaraguensis
Falco sparverius ochraceus
Falco sparverius paulus (Florida kestrel) (Attributes)
Falco sparverius peninsularis (San Lucas kestrel)
Falco sparverius peruvianus
Falco sparverius sparverioides
Falco sparverius sparverius (Northern kestrel)
Falco sparverius tropicalis

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
5
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
27
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 11.332
EDGE Score: 2.5122
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  115 grams
Birth Weight [3]  9 grams
Breeding Habitat [2]  Generalist, Agricultural
Wintering Geography [2]  Widespread
Wintering Habitat [2]  Generalist, Agricultural
Diet [4]  Carnivore (Invertebrates), Carnivore (Vertebrates)
Diet - Ectothermic [4]  20 %
Diet - Endothermic [4]  20 %
Diet - Invertibrates [4]  60 %
Forages - Mid-High [4]  10 %
Forages - Understory [4]  40 %
Forages - Ground [4]  50 %
Clutch Size [5]  5
Clutches / Year [3]  2
Fledging [1]  30 days
Global Population (2017 est.) [2]  4,900,000
Incubation [3]  29 days
Mating System [6]  Monogamy
Maximum Longevity [3]  17 years
Raptor Research Conservation Priority [7]  162
Snout to Vent Length [1]  9 inches (24 cm)
Wing Span [8]  23 inches (.58 m)
Female Maturity [3]  1 year
Male Maturity [3]  1 year

Ecoregions

Protected Areas

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Ecosystems

Biodiversity Hotspots

Prey / Diet

Prey / Diet Overlap

Predators

Accipiter cooperii (Cooper's Hawk)[9]
Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle)[9]
Bubo virginianus (Great Horned Owl)[9]

Consumers

Range Map

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Audio

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Provided by Xeno-canto under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License Author: Felix Vidoz

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 2Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2017. Accessed on January 2018.
♦ 3de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774
♦ 4Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 5Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303
♦ 6Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 7Buechley ER, Santangeli A, Girardello M, et al. Global raptor research and conservation priorities: Tropical raptors fall prey to knowledge gaps. Divers Distrib. 2019;25:856–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12901
♦ 8On the allometry of wings, Enrique Morgado, Bruno Günther and Urcesino Gonzalez, Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 60: 71-79, 1987
♦ 9Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 10Raptor Predation on Wintering Shorebirds, G. Page and D. F. Whitacre, The Condor, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Spring, 1975), pp. 73-83
♦ 11Lasiurus borealis, Karl A. Shump Jr. and Ann U. Shump, Mammalian Species No. 183, pp. 1-6 (1982)
♦ 12Marmota caligata (Rodentia: Sciuridae), JANET K. BRAUN, T. SCOTT EATON, JR., AND MICHAEL A. MARES, MAMMALIAN SPECIES 43(884):155–171 (2011)
♦ 13Microtus montanus, Wendy E. Sera and Cathleen N. Early, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 716, pp. 1–10 (2003)
♦ 14Myotis velifer, John H. Fitch, Karl A. Shump, Jr., and Ann U. Shump, Mammalian Species No. 149, pp. 1-5 (1981)
♦ 15Predation upon small mammals in shrublands and grasslands of southern South America: ecological correlates and presumable consequences, Fabian M. Jaksic, Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 59: 209-221 (1986)
♦ 16Spalacopus cyanus, Juan C. Torres-Mura and Luis C. Contreras, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No.594, pp. 1-5 (1998)
♦ 17Tadarida brasiliensis, Kenneth T. Wilkins, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 331, pp. 1-10 (1989)
♦ 18Tamias amoenus, Dallas A. Sutton, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 390, pp. 1-8 (1992)
♦ 19Tamias dorsalis, E. Blake Hart, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 399, pp. 1-6 (1992)
♦ 20Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London
♦ 21International Flea Database
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Audio software provided by SoundManager 2
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0