Common kestrel
| Common kestrel | |
|---|---|
| Adult male Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus | |
| Adult Female Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus from Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, Churu, Rajasthan, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Falconiformes |
| Family: | Falconidae |
| Genus: | Falco |
| Species: | F. tinnunculus |
| Binomial name | |
| Falco tinnunculus | |
| Subspecies | |
|
About 10, see text | |
| Global map of Falco tinnunculus Summer Range Year-Round Range Passage migrant Winter Range | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Falco rupicolus Daudin, 1800 (but see text) | |
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called the "kestrel".
This species occurs over a large native range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America. It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas.