Falco cenchroides
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides), also known as the Australian kestrel, is a raptor native to Australia and New Guinea. It is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands.
The nankeen kestrel is a species of the genus Falco, allied to a subgenus Tinnunculus. They were first described by Nicholas Vigors, James Gleeson and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. Further descriptions — regarded as synonyms for the species — were published: Cerchneis immaculata Brehm, 1845; the later name Cerchneis unicolor by Alexander Milligan was published in Emu in 1904; and that author's name appearing in the assignment to a subspecies, Cerchneis cenchroides milligani, published by Gregory Mathews in 1912.
The generic name is Late Latin falco 'falcon' (from falx falcis, 'sickle') and the specific epithet is derived from Ancient Greek kenkhris 'kestrel' and -oides 'resembling'. The common names mosquito hawk, kestrel, windhover, hoverer are cited in the Australian Faunal Directory. Its common descriptor refers to the colour... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyabram Fauna Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Rottnest Island, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Kestrel sighting in Rottnest Island on a given day, based on 252 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 81 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Kestrel in Rottnest Island on a given day, against about 40% in January–February, July and September, the lowest months. That is one of Rottnest Island's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against 5 mm in December.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian Kestrel sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Australian Kestrel sightings, Rottnest Island ranks 4th at about 50%. The best odds are in Ningaloo Marine Park (Australia, about 60%), Cape Range (Australia, about 50%) and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australian Kestrel is recorded against all the birds logged in Rottnest Island (252 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
