Listen to the American kestrel
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the American kestrel
The American kestrel is a bird in the family Falconidae (order Falconiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 58 cm.
What does the American kestrel sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call and flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest and most common falcon in the Americas. Though it has been called the American "sparrow hawk", this now obsolete vernacular name is a misnomer; the American kestrel is a true falcon, while neither the Eurasian sparrowhawk nor the other species called sparrowhawks are in the family Falconidae, hence only very distantly related to the American kestrel. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove. It is a very successful species, occurring almost throughout North and South America except for the Arctic fringes of North America, and the densest tropical Amazon rainforest areas; it has evolved into 17 subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the region. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size (females being moderately larger) and plumage, although both sexes have a rufous back with noticeable barring. Its plumage is colorful, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults.
Related birds in the genus Falco
More from the family Falconidae
Frequently asked questions
What does an American kestrel sound like?
You can hear 3 recordings of the American kestrel on this page, including its call and flight call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the American kestrel endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the American kestrel as “least concern”.
What family does the American kestrel belong to?
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) belongs to the family Falconidae in the order Falconiformes.
Sources & credits
- Flight call · Azuay: upper Yunguilla Valley, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Four Mile Draw Rd, Custer State Park, South Dakota, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Four Mile Draw Rd, Custer State Park, South… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q651545 – CC0
- Wikipedia: American kestrel – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith – CC BY-SA 2.0