@@user-catlover666it's true that kittens aren't top predators, but cats are. They are highly effective killing machines with a wide variety of prey. Kestrels are even more effective tiny killers. And just as adorable. I get what was originally meant.
kestrels in particular are known for their tail bobbing/pumping!! the current idea is that it helps with balance/stability, besides looking freaking adorable
In person and up close, it's still adorable, but it's also ear-piercing. I used to work at a wildlife rehab clinic, and one of our animals in the non-releasable collection was a kestrel who loved to scream his disgruntlement at the world. It's amazing how loud and offended that one tiny little bird can sound.
This is like my chickens. They notice things easily that I would never be able to see on my own. They also have different alarm calls for different threats. "Cat in the yard" is different from "hawk spotted", etc. Birds are smart!
Yes! Ducks too. I have raised both and it’s so cool when you develop an ear for what they’re communicating. The little nuances in calls become very clear. When I’m at the park now I can understand the tone/general intention behind what the ducks are quacking, the head bob, etc. Very cool feeling.
My chickens are dumb jerks that bully eachother, eat voraciously and poop constantly. They are slowly letting me pet them with meal worm bribery now. 😂
@@Palpo_pics I was driving in the car with my mother today and we drove past a woman doing garden work and she had a big red macaw on her shoulder while she was on her knees digging. I have never been that close to one of these huge birds and it was gorgeous.
Kestrels are one of the few raptors that if you have extensive training and know the bird's personality you can rest it on your bare arm. By comparison the Great Horned Owl and Bald Eagle can pierce a rawhide leather glove and break bones in your hand.
That's because falcons and kestrels aren't actually closely related to hawks and owls. They are closer to songbirds and parrots. But they get lumped into 'raptors' colloquially because of similar features.
Hey there quick question, I’m an amateur on my bird knowledge but how big do kestrels get compared to other birds like hawks or owls, also how do they not hurt you I’ve seen many videos with people holding the with their bare hands?
Probably also helps that kestrels and other falcons are realtively small and their talons and feet are pretty weak when compared to larger birds of prey.
Once upon a time, and this is a complex story. I heard a whole murder, flock, whatever you want to call a group of crows making noise in the distance. As they got closer, I saw them, and that they were chasing a red tailed hawk with a dead crow in its talons. During this whole commotion there’s two falcons also watching and calling at each other, I like to imagine them gossiping
Are you sure falcons? Hawks and falcons are in completely different orders. Hawks being in the same family order as secretary birds, ospreys, new world vultures, and being in the same family as eagles, real hawks, buzzards (buzzards are the real name for what you would call the red tailed hawk etc.) old world vultures etc. Falcons are in an order of their own, with the caracaras. Falcons are usually smaller, more sleek and tend to be faster.
@@Just_shush_now yes, two falcons, one on a tree, the other on a pole, screaming to each other from across the field as the flock of crows attacked the red tail hawk across the pond. I’ve had a love of animals my whole life and I know the difference between hawks, eagles, vultures, and falcons
Kestrels and falcons are actually not closely related to hawks but rather closer to parrots and songbirds. Pretty cool that they evolved some similar features.
Ren Faire: the hawk thinks the sunshade is a demon. He’ll fly out to the chocolate booth and scream angrily at the screen. The kestrel stares at the hawk in confusion
Seems like I read somewhere that their vision is 8 times better than ours... but that may have been songbirds. Not sure if predatory birds' vision is even better than that...?
I know it's supposed to be a majestic and incredible creature, but it looks like a stuff toy and squeaks, and it just marbles them.look incredibly adorable.
and they sound like squeaky toys! they are such adorable birds. I see them around pretty frequently, once I get a longer lens I should be able to get some vids too!
Isn't he beautiful. Imagine having eyesight like that. Incredible. I rarely see them around here, but when I do it's just a flash and the bird is gone. Incredibly fast. Amazing.
I once saw a kestrel crash. He was flying into a southwest headwind and passed behind a telephone pole. As he passed through the slipstream of the pole, his left wing stalled, sending him into a wing-over and straight into the ground. Poor bird died on impact from the aerial equivalent of tripping over a crack in the sidewalk.
All native North American birds are protected by the federal migratory bird treaty act. The exceptions would for example pigeons, English sparrows and European starlings these birds are invasive
The kind that was supposed to a backflip, but just kind of hopped and sometimes fell over? They were still around in the late 90s and early 2000s, when I grew up.
Not just raptors, all birds including their prey. My parrot of 13 years is consistently spotting, owls, and Falcons, and the words, and spiders in the living room!
Absolutely! I used to have a job cleaning cages at a rehab center (didn't directly work with the birds) and out of their non-releasable birds, one male kestrel was the friendly one. You'd pass by his cage and he'd walk over to look at you and do a little head bob. They were training him to be an outreach/education bird. (The crows were dicks--understandably bored, poor guys, but still it wasn't fun to go in to their cage to sweep and have them pull your hair! They'd also steal your brush sometimes.)
