Parques de Portugal

<p> <em>Falco naumanni </em>Fleischer, 1818</p>

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  • Lesser kestrel

  • Falco naumanni Fleischer, 1818

  • Falconidae

  • The lesser kestrel is a small and elegant bird of prey, with pointy wings, narrow tail and brownish red plumage in its dorsal surface and grey with black dots on the ventral surface. The male has a blue head and wing bands and an orange chest, while the female has a beige chest. It can grow to be 33 cm long and have 72 cm span.

  • Vale do Guadiana Nature Park

  • Alentejo

  • Vulnerable

  • The lesser kestrel exists in areas with extensive cereal plantations such as fallow land, pastures, stubble, and nests in human constructions. In the Mértola Village, included on the Natural Park of the Valley of Guadiana, there is an emblematic colony of this species. 

  • Spring, Summer and Winter,

  • The lesser kestrel feeds predominantly on invertebrates (grasshoppers, beetles and spiders) and occasionally on micro mammals and reptiles. It exhibits a characteristic behaviour sifting above the hunting fields searching for food.

  • The Portuguese population of this species is estimated to be between 480 and 484 couples.