page_title: List of birds of the United States
section_title: Falcons and caracaras
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of the United States / Falcons and caracaras
caption_attribution_description: Falco sparverius English: American Kestrel
context_page_description: This list of birds of the United States is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species confirmed in the United States as of July, 2019. It includes species from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.
  The birds of the continental United States most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to the continent as part of the supercontinent Laurasia until around 60 million years ago. Many groups occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere and worldwide. However some groups unique to the New World have also arisen; those represented in this list are the hummingbirds, the New World vultures, the New World quail, the tyrant flycatchers, the vireos, the mimids, the New World warblers, the tanagers, the cardinals, and the icterids.
  Several common birds in the United States, such as the house sparrow, the rock pigeon, the European starling, and the mute swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to this continent but were brought here by humans. Introduced species are marked on this list as (I). In addition, many non-native species which have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America are not on this list.
context_section_description: Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae
  Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
  Collared forest-falcon, Micrastur semitorquatus (A) LC
  Crested caracara, Caracara cheriway LC
  Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus (C) LC
  American kestrel, Falco sparverius LC
  Red-footed falcon, Falco vespertinus (A) NT
  Amur falcon, Falco amurensis (Northern Mariana Islands) (A) LC
  Merlin, Falco columbarius LC
  Eurasian hobby, Falco subbuteo (C) LC
  Aplomado falcon, Falco femoralis LC
  Gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus LC
  Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus LC
  Prairie falcon, Falco mexicanus LC
caption: American kestrel
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