Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni)

Species information

Videos and images

Threats

The main cause of decline of the lesser kestrel is habitat loss and degradation as a result of agricultural intensification, afforestation and urbanisation (6). Pesticide contamination is indirectly affecting the lesser kestrel due to reductions in prey, and directly affecting it during the breeding process. Hunting and egg-stealing have also contributed to sharp declines in numbers. Populations have been reduced most in the European range, particularly in Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria, where lesser kestrels are no longer breeding (2).

Conservation

The lesser kestrel is protected by law, but its breeding sites are not, and numbers of breeding birds have dropped by 95% since the 1950s (2). Research and management of the species and its habitat have been carried out in several countries and both a European and an International Action Plan have been implemented. These encourage surveying and monitoring, the construction of artificial nests, and research into factors limiting the kestrel’s survival and habitat management. The most immediate priority is to enforce the legal protection already in place (6).

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