Family:
The lesser kestrel is a small bird of prey that looks very similar to the common kestrel but with shorter, more rounded, shorter wings and tail. The male has a brown back and barred grey underparts, grey patches on the wings, and a blue-grey head and tail. The female is paler, and both sexes have pale talons which is unusual in falcons.
Lesser kestrels are not currently threatened but are at risk from the use of pesticides, poisoning, the demolition of old buildings, and loss of habitat due to farming practices. Protection measures such as artificial nests and reintroduction programmes have maintained the populations in the range.
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Lesser kestrels feed mainly on large insects including grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, and crickets, as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, rodents, birds, and their chicks.
It flies low when hunting, before dropping slowly, and diving onto the prey from a height of less than a metre.
Lesser kestrels breed in south west Europe and north Africa through to central Asia. It spends its winters in Africa, south of the Sahara. It can be found in warm, dry semi-desert areas and steppes, pastures, and fields.
