Kestrel Female with bug

Kestrel Female caught a bug and was photographed at El Rio Preserve in Marana, AZ. North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel, packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles or hover facing the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.