. A history of British birds . FALCON I ACCIPITRES. FALCON I D^ Falco tinnunculiis, Linn£eus*. THE KESTREL, OR WINDHOVER. Falco tmmmculus. The Kestrel is the most common species of the BritishFcdconidce, and from its peculiar habits, which place it veryoften in view, it is also, as might be expected, the bestknown. It is handsome in shape, attractive in colour, andgraceful in its motions in the air ; though from its mode of* Syst. Niit. Ed. 12, i. p. 127 (1766). KESTREL. 79 searching for its food, tiud the shortness of its wings com-pared with the other small species already figured,
. A history of British birds . FALCON I ACCIPITRES. FALCON I D^ Falco tinnunculiis, Linn£eus*. THE KESTREL, OR WINDHOVER. Falco tmmmculus. The Kestrel is the most common species of the BritishFcdconidce, and from its peculiar habits, which place it veryoften in view, it is also, as might be expected, the bestknown. It is handsome in shape, attractive in colour, andgraceful in its motions in the air ; though from its mode of* Syst. Niit. Ed. 12, i. p. 127 (1766). KESTREL. 79 searching for its food, tiud the shortness of its wings com-pared with the other small species already figured, it departsfrom the characters of the true Falcons. It is best known,and that too at any moderate distance, by its habits of sus-taining itself in the air in the same place by means of ashort but rapid motion of the wings, while its powerful eyessearch the surface beneath for prey. It has acquired thename of Windhover from its habit of remaining with out-spread tail suspended in the air, the head on these occasionsalways pointing to windward ; and it is also called St
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
