Grey Kestrel

Falco ardosiaceus

Other Pics: Grey Kestrel Perched

Other Names

    Faucon ardoisé   Graufalke   Cernicalo Pizarosso   Gråfalk   Grijze Torenvalk   Gheppio grigio

World: Afrotropical species whose range extends from Senegal, south through Gambia to Angola in the west across to Ethiopia, western Kenya, western Tanzania and northern Zambia.

Kenya: Found mostly in the west of the country although it occasionally wanders east to the Rift Valley.

This is an attractive small falcon which is easily identified by its large, yellow orbital ring and yellow cere and legs. Apart from these flashes of colour it is a uniform grey all over.

Despite the distribution and the fact that Grey Kestrels are recorded as only occasionally reaching as far east as Lake Baringo that's the first place we ever saw them. In fact a pair of Grey Kestrels have nested at Lake Baringo Club for a number of years. We've seen them mating and watched them flying in and out of their nest, bringing food to their young. They utilise old nests of other birds, the pair that we're familiar with have claimed an old Hamerkop nest.

Their normal habitat is savanna and open woodland including some dense stands of trees next to open areas in which they hunt for their main prey, grasshoppers and small lizards. They also take a range of other small animals. Although they will hawk for insects they mainly take their prey on the ground after hunting from a high perch (as in the alternate photograph). Despite this description of their normal habitat the photographs on these pages were taken in November 03 on a main road just outside Kisumu. The telegraph pole was on the border of a large refinery (which did have a large open grassy area surrounding it).