American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), juvenile

DF, Brazil.

 

Known locally as "quiriquiri".

 

DNA analysis shows this species is considerably different to the European and African kestrel clade within the genus Falco. Therefore it's not actually a kestrel. Instead, a process of convergent evolution to fit a similar small prey niche in the ecosystem as the true kestrels have left it with similar physical characteristics and hunting methods.

 

More information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_kestrel

 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Falconiformes

Family: Falconidae

Subfamily: Falconinae

Genus: Falco Linnaeus, 1758

Species: F. sparverius Linnaeus, 1758

Binomial name: Falco sparverius

Done