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Nankeen Kestrel

 
Nankeen Kestrel

 
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Nankeen Kestrel
 
 
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The Australian or Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides, is one of the smallest falcon
Falcon

A falcon is any species of bird of prey in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings....
s, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. This bird is apparently a very close relative of the Common Kestrel
Common Kestrel

The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel....
, and probably also the Spotted Kestrel
Spotted Kestrel

The Spotted Kestrel is also known as the Moluccan Kestrel....
; it seems to have evolved of ancestral Common Kestrels dispersing to the Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n region in the Middle Pleistocene
Middle Pleistocene

So far, the Pleistocene Series is not subdivided into formal units . Several solutions were proposed, and dedicated working groups are presently pursuing an agreed solution....
 - less than 1 million years ago - and adapting
Adaptation

Adaptation is the process, which takes place under natural selection, whereby an organism becomes better suited to its habitat. Also, the term may refer to some characteristic which stands out as being especially significant in the organism's survival....
 to local conditions (Groombridge et al. 2002).

A very common and easily-seen raptor, the Nankeen Kestrel is found in Australia, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, and nearby islands, and is an irregular visitor to New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
.






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The Australian or Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides, is one of the smallest falcon
Falcon

A falcon is any species of bird of prey in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings....
s, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. This bird is apparently a very close relative of the Common Kestrel
Common Kestrel

The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel....
, and probably also the Spotted Kestrel
Spotted Kestrel

The Spotted Kestrel is also known as the Moluccan Kestrel....
; it seems to have evolved of ancestral Common Kestrels dispersing to the Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n region in the Middle Pleistocene
Middle Pleistocene

So far, the Pleistocene Series is not subdivided into formal units . Several solutions were proposed, and dedicated working groups are presently pursuing an agreed solution....
 - less than 1 million years ago - and adapting
Adaptation

Adaptation is the process, which takes place under natural selection, whereby an organism becomes better suited to its habitat. Also, the term may refer to some characteristic which stands out as being especially significant in the organism's survival....
 to local conditions (Groombridge et al. 2002).

A very common and easily-seen raptor, the Nankeen Kestrel is found in Australia, New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, and nearby islands, and is an irregular visitor to New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
. It occupies any type of land that is not too densely vegetated, but in particular temperate grasslands and open woodlands. In the tropical north and the sandy deserts of the west, it has a patchy and seasonal distribution.

Like many Australian birds, it has no clear migratory
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
 pattern: in the grasslands of the south, established pairs are resident year round, but many other birds migrate north during the austral winter, or roam the arid interior following food supplies.

A small, slim falcon (about 31 to 35 cm long), the Nankeen Kestrel is rufous or brown above and white or off-white below, with a black tail tip. Plumage varies considerably in detail, and some birds can look very scruffy, but the slim build, small size and distinctive straight-winged hovering habit make identification easy. (The only other Australasian raptors to hover are the elanid kite
Elanid kite

An elanid kite, sometimes white-tailed kite, is any of several small, long-winged, hovering Bird of preys. All are specialist rodent hunters and most are members of the genus Elanus....
s which are much lighter in colour and a little larger, and the Brown Falcon
Brown Falcon

The Brown Falcon, Falco berigora, is a member of the falcon genus found in the drier regions of Australia. Its specific name berigora is derived from an aboriginal name for the bird....
, which is much larger and more heavily built, and hovers only with difficulty). Altogether, it looks just like a pale, less patterned, and smaller derivate of the Common Kestrel, which it indeed is (see Gloger's Rule
Gloger's rule

Gloger's Rule is a Zoology rule which states that within a species of endotherms, more heavily pigmented forms tend to be found in more humid environments, e.g....
, Bergmann's Rule
Bergmann's Rule

In zoology, Bergmann's rule is an ecogeographic rule that correlates latitude with body mass in animals. Broadly it asserts that within a species the body mass increases with latitude and colder climate, or that within closely related species that differ only in relation to size that one would expect the larger species to be found at the hig...
).