What is a kestrel?
Kestrels are small falcons, the size of the common Cape Turtle Dove. The males and females of all three species mentioned look markedly different and can therefore easily be identified in the field (see photographs of a male and female Lesser Kestrel above, photos by Bill Clark). Juveniles usually look similar to the adult females.
What first steps must I take to identify migrating kestrels?
A good start in identification is to buy yourself a good raptor field guide and study it. The local publication 'Raptor Identification Guide for Southern Africa' by Ulrich Oberprieler and Burger Cillié (from which all diagrams used here came) is excellent for beginners but possibly difficult to get hold of. Another good guide is 'Raptors of the World A Field Guide' by Ferguson-Lees and Christie, or the Sasol 'Birds of Prey of Africa and its Islands' by Kemp and Kemp. Some pointers have been included at the end of this page, which should help with the identification of these birds. And don't forget to visit the Gallery on this web site to see pictures of the various species of kestrel.
Nothing beats spending time in the field looking at these birds to gain experience and confidence. The more you take note of differences in plumage and behaviour of the various species, and males and females, and adults and juveniles in the field, the better you will become. If getting out is difficult, why not try to visit the skin collection at one of the big museums (Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Grahamstown, East London and Cape Town all have excellent skin collections) to compare the skins of the different species, sexes and ages.
SOME IDENTIFICATION POINTERS
Lesser Kestrel
This kestrel is globally threatened and is therefore the core species for this project. Although threatened, it is the most abundant of the three species, especially at roost sites within its core range, which include the Highveld Grassland and Karoo regions. It is the only one of the three where the male has a grey head, and rufous upperparts.
Identification pointers:
Upperparts plain rufous with a grey wing-bar, head plain grey, underwing white.
Amur Falcon
This species originates from the Amur Region in China (also called the Amur or Manchurian Falcon). It is often seen with the Lesser Kestrel and shares their roosting sites, and could therefore be counted with during the same survey. They prefer the northeastern wetter parts of southern Africa such as Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Identification pointers:
Plumage mostly grey, lower belly and leggings rufous, eye-ring, cere and legs red, underwing coverts white.
Redfooted Falcon
This species usually occurs in the western and drier parts of southern Africa such as Botswana and Namibia. Few have been observed as they seldom share roosting sites with the other two species due to their preference for more arid areas. The locality of active roosting sites for this species will greatly improve knowledge about the status of this species during over wintering.
Identification pointers:
Very much like Amur Falcon, but underwing coverts dark.
Beware of confusing Lesser Kestrels and Rock Kestrels
Of course, when you see large flocks of these birds, then this confusion is irrelevant. However, some people have claimed seeing Lesser Kestrels when they shouldn't be here. There are no published records of overwintering Lesser Kestrels (as far as I aware), but there is not reason why there shouldn't be, consiering that Steppe Buzzards and White Storks have been recording staying in South Africa over the winter period.
Despite the fact that they look quite different in the field guides, in the field these two species can be easily confused. Thus, when comparing male Lesser Kestrels to Rock Kestrels, the key features to look at are:
Lastly, Lesser Kestrels have cream coloured chests, while Rock Kestrels have the brick red chests like the rest of the bird.