Dutch Birding volume 27 (2005) no 2

Lesser Kestrel near Bergen in November 2000

On 5 November 2000, a weakened first-year female Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni was picked up and taken into care at Bergen, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands. The bird soon died and was added to the collection of the Zoological Museum at Amsterdam (ZMA), Noord-Holland. It was identified based on measurements compared with Common Kestrel F tinnunculus, including wing formula (see table 1), supported by plumage characters of 1 head streaking; 2 pattern of primary coverts, alula and outer scondary coverts; 3 pattern of dark markings on the underparts, upperwing and underwing; and 4 the pale coloration of the claws.
This is the first record for the Netherlands. Other records in central and north-western Europe are from Belgium (1), Britain (17, after revision), Denmark (8), Finland (3), Germany (2 recent records, 65+ old reports), Ireland (1), Liechtenstein (1) and Sweden (11) (see table 2).

Enno B Ebels, Joseph Haydnlaan 4, 3533 AE Utrecht, Netherlands
(ebelswxs.nl)
C S (Kees) Roselaar, Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam, Postbus 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam, Nederland
(roselaarscience.uva.nl)