Tuesday, January 18, 2005

The Bird Below Is an American Kestrel...Not a Red-Tailed Hawk ...Which Makes the Story Even More Amazing

SOUTH VALLEY BIKE TRAIL--I made a mistake in identifying the bird. After looking it up in my bird book it is indeed a kestrel...formerly called a chicken hawk, according to mjh. Thanks mjh. A kestrel is still a hawk, but the amazing part of the (revised) story is that Juan Hurino is taking the bird to the vet anyway; even though the kestrel was probably attracted to his own chickens. Also, from my reading the kestrel is full-grown...and a male. And to quote from A GUIDE TO FIELD IDENTIFICATION: BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA: "Hunts from poles, wires, or trees; frequently hovers. Eats insects primarily."

1 comment:

zachmiller said...

to give you a heads up...

the American Kestrel was once called a Sparrow Hawk, but this is misleading, because it's not a hawk, it's a falcon. The Chicken Hawk is a true hawk, known as a Cooper's Hawk today.