American Kestrel

[birder]

I have been working on this one for awhile now, and I think is getting ready for a build thread of this pretty little hawk.
The Kestrel is one of the most common birds of prey in the USA, and most folks who know some birds are familiar with it. There are 3 general types of hawks, the buteos (Redtail, Red-shouldered, ect) that soar on wide wings, the accipiters that zoom through the wooded areas, (Cooper's, Sharp shinned) And the speedsters the falcons (Peregrine, Merlin), which have been flown by falconers for at least hundreds of years. This bird is an amazing little falcon, I remember seeing a pair of them playing among some tall rocks on a windy day, amazed at their flight.
As our smallest falcon it can be overlooked as it perches on telephone wires when driving through open country. It eats mostly grasshoppers, mice and some small birds. Who ever thought a falcon could live off grasshoppers?

Up close the markings are beautiful, and delicate face and bill stand out in my mind. Here's the model pages and I hope to build it in next few days .Of course I've already built the parts lots of times but not in this present version and may need more tweeks, we'll see.