The American Kestrel is America’s smallest and most colorful diurnal (daytime) raptor. Male kestrels are more colorful than females, with blue-gray wings and a bright rufous tail. Females lack blue in the wings, but have black barring on their backs and tails, and while different than males, are still quite beautiful. Merlins, a similar falcon species that you could confuse with a kestrel, are slightly bigger, have more direct flight, a shorter tail and lack the “double mustache” of the American Kestrel. American Kestrels are swift and fierce predators with a high, sharp call.  They eat large insects like dragonflies (often on the wing), and small mammals such as mice. You may notice American Kestrels hovering, suspended in midair checking out movement on the ground for their next meal.