This photo shows how small the Kestrel is. Even a hawk this little has to be held carefully by the handler with a glove, those tiny talons are sharp! These birds are often seen sitting on power lines watching for prey.
This bird was photographed at Burgess Falls State Park. It was an unreleasable bird, having been previously injured. Park rangers often use such birds for educating visitors. These beautiful birds of prey are protected by law, for good reason, they eat lots of mice, rats, voles, and other rodents. They can often be seen soaring high in the sky searching for prey. The "eyebrow" is like a sunscreen for the hawk to protect its eyes from glare as it flies. It gives hawks and eagles a "mean" or serious look. The sharp, hooked beak is used for tearing the flesh from their prey; unlike owls, they do not swallow their prey whole. Buteo comes from the Latin word that means falcon or hawk. The birds in the group are medium to small birds that have short tails and long, broad rounded wings. They are often seen soaring high in the sky as they float on the uprising thermals in the summer.
