Bird

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 20 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 20

Male American Kestrel, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Jonathan Eisen, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 75920516. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 20
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 20

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 20

SummerSouthern Piedmont CliffNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal GrasslandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff; East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff; Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Acid Cliff; Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods; South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

WinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea ModifierMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art), a neighboring state.The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerBeside its main habitat.South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

WinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Other habitats in its models (145)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (71)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer.
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter, beside its main habitat.

Northeast (13)

Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.

Midwest (12)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.

Land cover and other classes (48)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer, beside its main habitat.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

American Kestrel uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.