Lesser kestrel

    Falco naumanni

Castilian: Cernícalo primilla

Catalan: Xoriguer petit

Gallego: Lagarteiro das torres

Euskera: Etxe belatza

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Falconiformes

Family: Falconidae

Migratory status: Summer resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Vulnerable”.

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THREATS

The loss of its feeding habitat due to the abandonment of land, changes in farming and the use of chemical products in rural areas that can poison the bird. Also, when it nests in old buildings it can lose the eggs due to renovation projects in those buildings.

Length / size: 26-31 cm / 66-72 cm

Identification: Small bird of prey with white toenails and marked sexual dimorphism. The males's back is reddish and spotless, his head and large covert feathers are bluish-grey, and his flight feathers are black, while his lower body is mottled, the base of his bill together with the ring around his eyes are yellow, and his tail is light grey, with a dark band across his longest tail feathers. The female's colouration is duller: her back is reddish with horizontal bars, and her belly is mottled. The bird hovers in the air and scans the land in search of its prey.

Song: It makes a shrill "chee chee chee" sound that can be a little annoying.

Diet: Its preferred prey is grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts. It sporadically eats lizards, small birds, and rodents, which it hunts for in groups.

Reproduction: It nests in numerous colonies, installing itself in any type of structure under cracks, tiles or holes. Both adults are responsible for incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies open areas used for farming, grazing and livestock. However, it needs buildings, towns, etc. in order to nest. It is common to see it perched on lightposts and cables.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: The primary populations are distributed throughout Extremadura, Andalusia, Castile and León, and Castile-La Mancha.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces, with the largest populations in Zamora, Salamanca, Palencia and Valladolid.

Movements and migrations: They make pre-migratory journeys to the north of the peninsula before finally heading south.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 20000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 1000-1300 breeding pairs.