Species: American kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Intake Date: July 1, 2023
Clover is our resident American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) and she was transferred to the Wildlife Medical Clinic on July 1, 2023, from Illinois Raptor Center. They had received her after she flew into a shed and hit a window. She had some neurological issues at first but once those were resolved, it was found that she was very friendly around people, too friendly to be released back into the wild. For this reason, she joined our ambassador program. She had recently fledged the nest when she had arrived at the clinic, so she was only around two months of age when she joined our program.
Fun Facts
American Kestrels are the smallest falcons of North America, but don’t let their size fool you—they are extremely fierce hunters! American Kestrels are sexually dimorphic, meaning that you can physically see the differences between males and females. We know that Clover is a female due to her rusty-red coloring, whereas males typically have much more silvery-blue coloring throughout their feathers. Both sexes have black vertical bars on their face termed “sideburns” or malar stripes, which help deflect the sun’s rays during flight. In addition to having extremely sharp vision, falcons can also see more colors than humans and can even see the ultraviolet color spectrum!