American Kestrel, female

Falco sparverius

American Kestrel · San Diego · 6 March 2026

A female American Kestrel on a perch in San Diego in March, head raised and alert. Kestrels are the falcon of open country across the Americas, hunting from a perch or a hover over grassland, farmland and scrub, and a Californian park with lawns and fence posts suits them well.

Kestrels hunt as much by sight from a perch as by the hovering flight they are best known for, and a bird like this one watches the ground methodically, head bobbing to judge distance, before dropping on anything that moves. The rufous back and wings barred with black mark a female; a male has slate-blue wings. The smallest falcon in North America, not much bigger than a jay.