Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Medium sized falcon with long tail and long wings. Upperparts brick-red, underparts pale buff with dark speckles. Male; light grey head and tail. Female; brick-red head and tail. Both sexes with broad, black terminal tail-band visible on both sides. Evident, but diffuse moustache-stripe. Hovers more frequently than other raptors. Tail and wings gives a more rounded impression when soaring. Very similar to Lesser Kestrel.
Sound:Most common call a fast series of short, high-pitched "ke-ke-ke". Much less raucous than Merlin or Peregrine.
Call:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSounds:Recorded by Francesco Sottile,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license
In all plumages: Glides with wings raised in shallow V. Shows 5 primaries. This makes the wing tip broader than in Pallid- and Montague's Harriers, and the wings seems shorter. (Note that moulting individuals may show only 4 primaries). Male; grey with black primaries, white rump and underparts, and broad black trailing edge to underwing. Note that subadult males may show partly black primaries like Pallid. Female; brown with white rump, barred tail and streaked underparts.
Sound:Mostly heard at breeding ground. Calls with quite soft series of "ke-ke-ke-ke". Also a wailing, squealing whistle, with emphasized first syllable.
Contact call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSounds:Creative Commons,www.xeno-canto.org,Bruno Durand,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/