Kestrels and Kingfishers

     Today on a short field trip in the farm country around New Holland, Pennsylvania, I saw among other kinds of birds, two each of American kestrels and belted kingfishers.  Thinking about those two species of birds, I realized again they have a lot of interesting traits in common, though they are from different families of birds.  And, because of their diverse niches, they have some differences, too.
     Both species are common in this part of Pennsylvania.  As species, both are here the year around, though its usually only male kingfishers here in winter.  Both nest in cavities in farmland in this area.  They are about the size of blue jays, but a bit chunkier.  They are shaped differently from each other, but built for what they do.  And both either perch on tree twigs, or wires, or hover on rapidly beating wings into the wind as they watch for prey. 
     American kestrels are the smallest of falcons, a branch of the hawk family in this part of North America.  The beautiful kestrels are adapted to open country, including cropland in southeastern Pennsylvania. They hunt mice and larger insects along roadsides and hedgerows, and in abandoned fields in the warmer months and mice and small birds in those same habitats in winter.  They drop from perches or the air to snare victims in their sharp talons.
     Kestrels hatch young in tree cavities in cropland.  And they also rear offspring in barns and other buildings, as well as in nesting boxes erected in fields especially for them.
     Belted kingfishers dig upward slanting tunnels near the tops of streambanks in which they raise offspring.  Their burrows slant up so the young are less likely to drown if flood waters occur.
     Kingfishers hunt by waterways and human-made impoundments and catch little fish, crayfish, tadpoles and other small, aquatic creatures.  When victims are spotted, kingfishers dive head-first into the water and grab the prey in their large, black beaks.        
      Kingfishers are blue-gray above and white below, with a shaggy crest on top of their heads.  Each individual has a blue-gray band across the chest and females also have a chestnut one across their chests.  
     Kestrels and kingfishers sometimes fall prey to Cooper's hawks that adapted to agricultural habitats.  Kestrels were reduced in numbers in part by Cooper's hawks in recent years.  But this winter I've noticed more of them on roadside wires than I have in the recent past.  And I once saw a Coop's chasing a kingfisher around a pond, although I don't know what the final outcome was.  
     Look for the common and interesting kestrels and kingfishers this winter, or anytime of year.  They are neat parts of local avifauna the year around.