Common Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: abundant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Cernícalo vulgar

Photograph: Frank Vassen, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 33–39 cm
Wingspan: 65–80 cm
Weight: 185–225 g

Presence in the Strait

Abundant resident (>700 pairs). Numbers increase during winter with the arrival of birds from the North.

Identification

Males have grey head, rump and tail with a broad black subterminal band. Slightly larger than a Lesser Kestrel, with black-spotted back and claws. Females and juveniles are brownish and heavily mottled. They also hover like the Lesser Kestrel.

Movements

Partial migrant (>150 post. migr.) with peaks in 2nd hf. March, 2nd hf. September and 1st hf. October.

Ring recoveries

Finland (1), Switzerland (1), Spain (2) and chick ringed at Tarifa in August and controlled in Morocco in December.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

18 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 20 August 1902
Latest record: 8 April 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

4 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Spain2
Finland1
Switzerland1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Eleonora’s Falcon36–42 cm · Migrant · overlapping size
Eurasian Hobby28–35 cm · Migrant · overlapping size
Peregrine Falcon39–50 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Red-footed Falcon28–34 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Lesser Kestrel29–32 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
GBIF taxon key: 9616058

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Frank Vassen, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Common Kestrel

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery