KESTREL
The most common falcon in Europe and a lot of people’s favourite bird of prey. Unusually with raptors, the male and female are a similar size, their colouration is the key to determining sex. The female has bright orangey-brown upperparts with black bars, whereas the male has pale rufous uppers with black spots. The male also has a blue-grey head and tail, while the female has a brown head and tail. Both sexes have brown-black outer wings, and light underparts with bold dense spotting, and black tips to their tails.
These birds are often seen perching at the tops of trees and telegraph poles, watching for lunch, or their characteristic hovering, with their tails fanned out, searching for small rodents and insects. They will also eat lizards and small birds. They can be seen all over Kefalonia, from the mountains to the cliffs along the coast, a most welcome sight.
