Lesser Kestrel

The lesser kestrel is a small falcon, 27–33 centimetres long with a wingspan of 63–72 centimetres. It looks very much like the larger common kestrel but has proportionally shorter wings and tail, and shares the brown back and barred grey underparts. The male has a grey head and tail but lacks the dark spotting on the back and the black malar stripe, and has grey patches in the wings. Females and young are slightly paler and so similar to the common kestrel that call and structure are better guides than plumage. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes in India and Iraq, and it is declining in Europe. It lives alongside the common kestrel through its breeding range and competes with it to a limited extent. It eats insects but also small birds, reptiles and rodents, especially mice, often taken on the ground. (Wikipedia, general species account)