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Webster 1913 Edition

Kestrel

Kes′trel

(kĕs′trĕl)
,
Noun.
[See
Castrel
.]
(Zool.)
A small, slender European hawk (
Falco alaudarius
), allied to the sparrow hawk. Its color is reddish fawn, streaked and spotted with white and black. Also called
windhover
and
stannel
. The name is also applied to other allied species.
☞ This word is often used in contempt, as of a mean kind of hawk. “Kites and kestrels have a resemblance with hawks.”
Bacon.

Webster 1828 Edition

Kestrel

KES'TREL

,
Noun.
A fowl of the genus Falco, or hawk kind; called also stannel and windhover. It builds in hollow oaks, and feeds on quails and other small birds.

Definition 2025

kestrel

kestrel

English

A common kestrel.

Wikispecies

Noun

kestrel ‎(plural kestrels)

  1. Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
    • 1878, Hardy, The Return of the Native, book 3 chapter 6
      When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings.
    • 1917, John Masefield, Up on the Downs
      Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover,
      Eyeing the grass.
      The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover
      As their shadows pass.
  2. The common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

External links

Etymology

From Middle English castrel ‎(“staniel, bird of prey”), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle ‎(“bird of prey”), derivative of crecelle ‎(“rattle, wooden reel”), of obscure origin.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɛstɹəl/

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