Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a small falcon with pointed wings, a long tail and warm rufous upperparts marked with dark spots. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It hunts over open ground by hovering into the wind or watching from a perch, then dropping onto small mammals, large insects and other prey detected below. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).