Common Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Tårnfalken er en rovfugl, der findes over store dele af Europa, Asien og Afrika. Den er kendt for at jage mus ved at stå stille i luften på flagrende vinger over f.eks.
Slim falcon with pointed wings, a long tail and a black malar stripe. The male has a grey head and grey black-banded tail over a black-spotted chestnut back; the female is chestnut and barred throughout. The hover — hanging still over grass — is the mark above all.
Can be confused with
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk — Sparrowhawk has short rounded wings and never hovers — it hunts in low surprise dashes; the Kestrel has pointed wings and hangs stationary over open country.
Plumage and variation
Male and female: The male a grey head and tail; the female brown and barred, tail included.
Juvenile: Juvenile resembles the female with broader streaking below and paler yellow cere and orbital skin.
Behaviour
Hovers on winnowing wings 10–20 m over open ground, dropping in short steep dives; also still-hunts from posts and wires. Tied to verges, fallow and meadows; nests high in cavities.
When and where
Denmark’s third-commonest raptor with about 2,500 pairs. Mostly resident east of the Great Belt; west of it many move to western Europe for winter.
Facts
Wingspan
73 cm
Conservation status
ikke truet
Relatives
Family
falcons
Falconidae
Order
falcons
Falconiformes
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