The American kestrel is the smallest and cutest species of falcon found in North America. Other than their size, kestrels can be recognized by the beautiful rufous top side of their tail and back as well as the bold dark patterns on their head. Kestrels are sexually dimorphic, which can be seen in the difference between the sexes wing colours. The females have a dark rufous colour in their wings, while the males have light gray wings. They have a pale underside with a lighter dotted pattern, this likely helps them blend in with a brighter sky, so they aren\u2019t seen by their prospective prey. Like many raptors, kestrels have a sharp hooked beak and large talons in order to more efficiently catch and tear apart prey. They generally have a shallower wingbeat and fly in lighter manner than similar species such as the merlin (Sibley, 2016). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like most birds, American kestrels make use of vocal calls in\ntheir day to day lives. Kestrels have a common call that is appropriately higher\npitched than other raptors and resembles a shrill killy killy killy <\/em>(Sibley,\n2016).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n