Nankeen Kestrel

The nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides), also known as the Australian kestrel, is a raptor native to Australia and New Guinea. It is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands. == Taxonomy == The nankeen kestrel is a species of the genus Falco, allied to a subgenus Tinnunculus. They were first described by Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. Further descriptions — regarded as synonyms for the species — were published: Cerchneis immaculata Brehm, 1845; the later name Cerchneis unicolor by Alexander Milligan was published in Emu in 1904; and that author's name appearing in the assignment to a subspecies, Cerchneis cenchroides milligani, published by Gregory Mathews in 1912. The generic name is Late Latin falco 'falcon' (from falx falcis, 'sickle') and the specific epithet is derived from Ancient Greek kenkhris 'kestrel' and -oides 'resembling'. The common names Mosquito Hawk, Kestrel, Windhover, Hoverer are cited in the Australian Faunal Directory. Its common descriptor refers to the colour of nankeen cloth, originally a yellowish cotton from Nankeen or Nanking (modern…