American Kestrel vs Duck Hawk

Falco sparverius compared with Falco peregrinus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Kestrel	Duck Hawk
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Falconiformes (Falconiformes)	Falconiformes (Falconiformes)
Family same	Falconidae	Falconidae
Genus same	Falco	Falco
Species	Falco sparverius	Falco peregrinus

Evolutionary Relationship

American Kestrel and Duck Hawk share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Falco.

Conservation Status

American Kestrel

LC — Least Concern

Duck Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~140.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Kestrel	Duck Hawk
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	48 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Kestrel

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (6 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Duck Hawk

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

American Kestrel

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Duck Hawk

The fastest animal on the planet, peregrine falcons achieve aerial dive speeds exceeding 320 km/h when stooping on prey, stunning or killing birds in flight with a blow from their feet. Found on every continent except Antarctica in diverse habitats from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforest. Nearly extinct in North America and Europe from DDT poisoning in the 1960s–70s, peregrines recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and successful urban nesting programs.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States 🇻🇪 Venezuela