American Kestrel

• It can see rodent urine: the urine of voles and mice reflects ultraviolet light, which the kestrel perceives, so it picks out the busiest trails from the air as though they were marked roads.
• Its decline in North America is an open mystery: the population has fallen by more than half since 1970 without a single cause being identified, and everything from insecticides to the loss of nest cavities is under investigation.
• It is one of the few falcons that hovers, beating its wings to hold position over a fixed point, like its European relative the common kestrel.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Grassland, farmland, roadsides, deserts and urban parks throughout the Americas

Sexual maturity

12 months

Gestation / incubation

29 days

Litter / clutch size

4.6 (average)

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Falco sparverius