They are the smaller birds of prey, but perfect hunters.
It is a Rock Kestrel (Falco rupicolus).
Now I don't know where the guy at the left robbed a nest, as all that I saw, was that he was landing on a window steel outer frame, so I decided to take a closer look. Surprise, surprise, his wife was also sitting on the window frame, but she must have had her lunch already because she didn't try to get the guy's score for herself. I think that she believes in sharing is caring, and the guy doesn't. It's always better to give than to get.
Come and watch the show.
Oh yes, he gave me a death stare, as if to say, Don't come any closer mate!
You see him whispering to her here, Can you please keep an eye on that man with the camera?
I said in the title of the post, that they are perfect hunters, and let's see how Wikipedia describes their hunting methods below.
Two primary forms of hunting are employed: hover hunting and perch hunting. Hover hunting describes the method whereby the kestrel remains stationary in the air with minimal wing flapping by utilizing updrafts. Hover hunting generally happens at medium to high windspeeds. It is usually small prey (such as insects) which are caught via this method and are subsequently eaten during flight.
Perch hunting is when the kestrel utilizes either natural (for instance cliffs and trees) or artificial (for instance electricity pylons and telephone poles) perches to scan the surrounding area for prey. Rock kestrels have been observed following baboons through grasslands and catching the insect species flushed out. There are also reports of rock kestrels robbing nests for young birds and eating termites on the floor.
Three shots below of him eating away at the little bird.
I was a bit eager to get some closer shots, and stupidly I moved a bit more forward. The lady was watching me.
Her death stare says it all, and they both disappeared.
Just a lovely photo to end the post.
We were at a big shopping center as they advertised some special prices on things that the wife needed for the house. As usual, I waited outside, and just as well because I would never have seen that little rock kestrel flying past. I saw where he landed, about 200 meters away, and you know that I would go after him, which I did. There were some obstructions in the way, things like banner poles and small trees that were planted to grow and give shade for the persons' cars that park under the trees.
I saw a kestrel at one of the local parks hovering in the sky and catching a little bird in flight, that I posted last year. Then I also had an encounter with a kestrel earlier this year, who also had prey, and I posted it some months ago. So, this is my third time to catch a kestrel with prey on camera. No need here for wildlife hides that the photographers use, as the entire area is nature's hide to show me the birds.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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