Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small falcon (Falco sparverius) found throughout the Americas, having vertical black stripes under the eyes and characteristically hovering over fields to hunt.
- noun A small falcon (Falco tinnunculus) of Europe, Asia, and Africa that hovers when hunting and has reddish-brown plumage and a gray head.
- noun Any of various similar falcons of the genus Falco that hover when hunting.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A common European falcon, Falco tinnunculus, Tinnunculus alaudarius, or Cerchneis tinnunculus, of small size and reddish color.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A small, slender European hawk (
Falco alaudarius ), allied to the sparrow hawk. Its color is reddish fawn, streaked and spotted with white and black. Also calledwindhover andstannel . The name is also applied to other allied species.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various small
falcons of the genusFalco thathover while hunting. - noun The
common kestrel ,Falco tinnunculus
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun small Old World falcon that hovers in the air against a wind
- noun small North American falcon
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Also, from my reading the kestrel is full-grown ... and a male.
The Bird Below Is an American Kestrel...Not a Red-Tailed Hawk ...Which Makes the Story Even More Amazing johnny_mango 2005
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A kestrel is still a hawk, but the amazing part of the (revised) story is that Juan Hurino is taking the bird to the vet anyway; even though the kestrel was probably attracted to his own chickens.
The Bird Below Is an American Kestrel...Not a Red-Tailed Hawk ...Which Makes the Story Even More Amazing johnny_mango 2005
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The kestrel is a small raptor in the falcon family.
Crow Pursuing Kestrel John L. Trapp 2002
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The kestrel is a small raptor in the falcon family.
Archive 2002-03-01 John L. Trapp 2002
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The kestrel is the most fertile; for this is nearly the only bird of prey which drinks, and its moisture, both innate and acquired, along with its heat is favourable to generative products.
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"A kestrel is a type of falcon, like the peregrine but smaller."
Through Wolfs Eyes 2001
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The kestrel is the bird known in England as the windhover, on account of its habit of hovering in mid-air on rapidly-vibrating wings before pouncing on the lizard or other small fry, for which it is ever on the watch.
Birds of the Indian Hills Douglas Dewar 1916
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For the kestrel is a most insulting creature towards the bigger birds.
Afoot in England 1881
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The kestrel is the commonest hawk in the southern parts of England, so that many opportunities occur to observe his habits; and there ought not to be any doubt in the matter.
The Life of the Fields Richard Jefferies 1867
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"The kestrel is the world's most perfect hawk," the Raptor Observatory's Allen Fish said.
unknown title 2009
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