American Kestrel
(Falco sparverius) Falcons and Caracaras (Falconidae)
Amerikansk Tårnfalk ~ Cernícalo Americano ~ Sparvfalk
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Unlike other falcons this species is not possible to age in the field. Once fledged the plumages are very similar, and apparently even more so with the females.
♀. Using Sibley to sex this species can lead to confusion, since he has illustrated the heads of the male and the female quite differently. This bird has a head pattern very much like the male in his book, but the general plumage pattern, with widely streaked breast and no gray in the wing, tells that this bird is a female. So females can show the same head pattern as males, you see the rufous crown and buff nape which is not included in his illustration of the female.