He is capable of flying short distances, but can't hover or maneuver. The New Male kestrel was found on Taft Hill Road, just south of the Larimer County Landfill in November 1989 with severe feather damage. For some reason, he is unable to grow normal, healthy primary flight feather. This is possibly due to either a genetic disability or permanent follicle damage. This is a medium sized bird which lives in the open prairie and grasslands.
Females are quite a bit larger than the males - up to half a size larger than the male.
They hunt from a high perch or while flying, and capture small mammals, ground dwelling birds, lizards and insects. They nest usually on cliffs, scraping a slight indentation for their eggs. They raise 4-5 young. He was brought to the RMRP from a rehabilitation center in Del Norte, Colorado in February 1992. We think he was injured in his first year, because he came to us with the marking off a young bird.