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Webster 1913 Edition

(kĕs′trĕl)

Noun.

[See

(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.

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.