American Kestrel

Scientific: Falco sparverius
Norwegian: Spurvefalk

The American Kestrel is our smallest falcon around 8 inches.  You will find it near farmland perched on telephone wires and is an occasional winter resident in our area. They nest is tree cavities and nest boxes. They eat insects and small mammals. The males is has the slate blue wings as seen in the top photo. The female has  the same rusty wings as the male but with no blue. When seen flying overhead, they look pale since you do not see any of the blue or rusty colors. Make sure you look closely, a female Sharp-shinned Hawk and female Kestrel look similar with their long tails.

American Kestrel Sound