Falco tinnunculus
Falco tinnunculus
This is a species with a wide distribution throughout the Palearctic (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe it occupies almost the entire continent, but is less common in the north, in Fennoscandia and Russia (Keller et al., 2020). In the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, it occurs continuously, with only a somewhat patchy distribution in Galicia, Extremadura, and Castilla-La Mancha. In the Canary Islands, the subspecies Falco tinnunculus canariensis (central and western islands) and F. t. dacotiae (endemic to the eastern islands) are recognized, and it is common on all islands (Lorenzo, 2007).
In Madrid it is widely distributed throughout the region and occurs in all habitats. It occupies river valleys and cliffs, holm oak forests at the foot of the mountains, and even high mountain areas. It can also be found in towns and cities, including Madrid city (Díaz et al., 1994).
During the fieldwork conducted for this atlas, it was recorded only at a few isolated points, probably due to a lack of suitable breeding habitats, although there are certain areas suitable for foraging.
The common kestrel is a species that prefers open and sparsely wooded habitats, but with good herbaceous cover. Within this range it can inhabit semi-deserts, urban areas, cliffs and coasts, agro-steppe ecosystems, croplands, pastures, and dehesas (Martínez-Padilla, 2016). Its optimal habitat consists of heterogeneous traditional agricultural areas and pastures. It avoids dense wooded areas because there are no open spaces to hunt its prey (Fargallo et al., 2020).
In the national park it has been detected in edge areas and high-altitude pastures, likely representing individuals searching for food.
At a global scale it is considered a Least Concern species (LC; 2021). In Europe it is classified as Least Concern (NT; 2021). In Spain, except for the Canary Islands, it is listed as Vulnerable in the 2021 Red List.
The Catalogue of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not place the species in any threat category.
BirdLife International 2024. IUCN Red List for birds. https://datazone.birdlife.org.
Díaz, M., Martí, R., Gómez-Manzaneque, Á. y Sánchez, A. 1994. Atlas de las aves nidificantes en Madrid. Agencia de Medio Ambiente y SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Fargallo, J. A., Navarro-Lopez, J., Palma-Granados, P. y Nieto, R. M. 2020. Foraging strategy of a carnivorous-insectivorous raptor species based on prey size, capturability and nutritional components. Scientific Reports, 10: 7583.
Keller, V., Herrando, S., Voříšek, P., Franch, M., Kipson, M., Milanesi, P., Martí, D., Antón, M., Klvaňová, A., Kalyakin, M. V. Bauer, H. Gr y Foppen, R. P. B. (eds.) 2020. European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Birds Census Council y Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
Lorenzo, J. A. (ed.) 2007. Atlas de las aves nidificantes en el archipiélago canario (1997-2003). Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Martínez-Padilla, J. 2016. Cernícalo vulgar–Falco tinnunculus. En Salvador, A. y Morales, M. B. (eds.): Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Madrid.
SEO/BirdLife (Molina, B., Nebreda, A., Muñoz, A. R., Seoane, J., Real, R., Bustamante, J. y Del Moral, J. C., eds.) 2022. III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.