Loosely translated, "sparverius" is latin for "relating to a sparrow". This alludes to the American Kestrel's old common name of "Sparrow Hawk". In fact, this raptor is not a hawk (it is a falcon) and its diet consists of beetles, butterflies, crickets, dragonflies, grasshoppers, small mammals, small birds, reptiles and amphibians. The bird in this photo had just retrieved a cricket from the grass and flew to the fence post to eat it. This feisty, tiny falcon is common around NYC and its ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum helps it hunt rodents, whose urine reflects ultraviolet light.
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