Bird

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Lives in Louisiana all year and nests here. Found in all 64 parishes, across 16 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 64 parishes
Habitats: 16

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 64 parishes
Habitats: 16
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Louisiana 16

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

1 of 16

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

SummerWinterTexas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough

Prairies and grasslands

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

SummerWinterWest Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie; Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie

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 Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874)*The Land of Evangeline*, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Mississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest

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.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods; West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods; Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods; West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterBeside its main habitat.Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

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

SummerBeside its main habitat.Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest

Moist forests

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

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; West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerBeside its main habitat.West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Other habitats in its models (162)

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

In Louisiana 3

West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland 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 Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.

Elsewhere in the South (78)

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 Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest 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 Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain 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.
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.
Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian 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 Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
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 Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer.
Southern Interior Calcareous Cliff Summer.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Cliff Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
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 (56)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
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.
Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp 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 - Herbaceous Modifier 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 Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland 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.
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 Bay/Gum Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and 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 Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp 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.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer, beside its main habitat.

All habitats

Seasons in Louisiana

Year-round: nests here, in 38 of 64 parishes.
Winter: does not nest here, in 51 of 64 parishes.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Louisiana, 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 Louisiana; these are its 3 most characteristic.