Common kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Overview
Common kestrel in Georgia
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a small falcon in the family Falconidae. Georgia's 2024 bird checklist lists it as a year-round breeding resident and passage migrant; the protected-area management plan lists it at Lagodekhi. A hovering hunt over open ground, a long tail and a spotted rufous back help identify it. It measures about 32–35 cm long. It poses no danger in an ordinary encounter, and its global assessment is Least Concern. On this page’s records-by-region map table, distribution is confirmed in 9 regions. One region is recorded-only for now and is not treated as distribution; the full list is in the map table.
Published:
Gallery
Common kestrel in photos
Where common kestrel is recorded in Georgia
448 field records · 2014–2026 · 10 regions
The common kestrel map combines Reptiles.ge editorial photo records with public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates confirmed distribution from recorded-only regions.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
Records by region
Identification
How to identify Common kestrel
A small falcon with pointed wings and a long tail. The back is rufous with dark spots, the underside pale and spotted, and a dark mark sits below the eye. Hovering over open ground is a good clue, but not conclusive alone.
Adult males have a grey head and tail, with one broad black band near the tail tip and a spotted rufous back. Females are browner, with several bars across the tail; juveniles resemble females. Typical species-level length is 32–35 cm and wingspan 71–80 cm, not Georgian measurements.
The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) also occurs in Georgia. Its adult male has a plainer back; at close range its claws are pale, whereas the common kestrel's are dark. Females and juveniles are often difficult to separate, so a distant hover or colour alone is insufficient.
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is stockier, shorter-tailed and has a dark hood and broad moustache. The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) has broader wings and a different silhouette. This atlas has profiles for both; a lesser kestrel profile has not yet been published.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
Only regions whose status is “distribution confirmed” on the records-by-region table count as distribution. At present that is 9 regions. Map confirmation is an observation status and does not mean breeding in every listed region. The national checklist confirms occurrence and breeding in Georgia, but does not map every municipality. The Lagodekhi protected-area management plan adds a named site in Kakheti; it does not establish breeding at every elevation there. Across its wider range, the species hunts over grassland, fields and other open ground, including grassy road verges. A verified Georgian elevation range is not available on this page.
Diet
Species-level sources describe small mammals, especially voles and mice, as principal prey. It also takes insects, small birds and other small animals. It scans the ground while hovering and then drops on prey. These are general feeding patterns, not results from a separate Georgian diet study.
Behavior
Active by day, the kestrel hunts from a perch or hovers with rapid wingbeats and a spread tail. Its call can be a sharp repeated “kee-kee-kee,” especially near a nest. It uses ledges, holes in buildings or old nests of other birds rather than normally building a twig nest. These are species-level traits; exact breeding months for Georgia are not established here.
Conservation
Georgia's 2024 checklist gives the common kestrel LC (Least Concern) for both global and national assessments. The 2021 IUCN global assessment reports a decreasing trend; that does not establish Georgia's population trend. The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) is a separate species and is coded nationally CR in the same checklist. A current quantitative Georgian trend or locally assessed threat list is not available here.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Common kestrel.
Yes. The 2024 national checklist lists it as a year-round breeding resident and passage migrant. It is also listed for Lagodekhi.
On the records-by-region map table, distribution is confirmed in 9 regions; recorded-only regions are not treated as distribution. Look for a hunting bird over open grassland or fields; Lagodekhi is a named site in Kakheti.
Look for pointed wings, a long tail, a spotted rufous back and hovering. Males have grey heads and tails; females and young are browner. Hovering alone is not a conclusive identification.
Adult male lesser kestrels have plainer backs. Close views show pale claws on the lesser kestrel and dark claws on the common kestrel. Females and juveniles often need better views to separate.
Typical species-level measurements are about 32–35 cm long with a 71–80 cm wingspan; these are not measurements from Georgia.
Small mammals are main prey, with other small animals also taken. It presents no danger in an ordinary encounter. Leave wild birds and nests undisturbed.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia, Sandgrouse 46
- ლაგოდეხის დაცული ტერიტორიების მენეჯმენტის გეგმა — ფრინველთა სია
- RSPB — Birds of prey identification guide
- BTO — Kestrel bird facts
- BirdGuides — Lesser Kestrel identification
- BirdLife DataZone — Common Kestrel
- BirdLife International 2021 — IUCN Red List, Falco tinnunculus
- Animal Diversity Web — Falco tinnunculus
- Georgian-English Dictionary — კირკიტა
- İzmir Kuş Cenneti — Kerkenez
- Wikimedia Commons — Paul Colin Hennig, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikimedia Commons — adult male, Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikimedia Commons — female, Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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