The kestrel :

The kestrel is a bird of prey. Its sharp beak gives him his frightening look. He can easily hover at great heights and swoop down on large insects.

In Mauritius you can find two migrant species of birds of prey: one of them lives in Africa, in the Libyan region of Madagascar, and the other one is the peregrine falcon which can fly over 10 000 Km. There are also two insular species, one of them is the kestrel, a little falcon with patches of different shades of brown, a predominantly white underside plumage interrupted with occasional dark-brown heart-shaped speckles. The kestrel usually nests in forest trees, and the females produce a clutch of four to five eggs while the males brings the food.

Long ago, when they where numerous, they were called « chicken thieves » by the farmers. This protected endemic specie avoided extinction thanks to the national preservation effort. At the time, there where only six kestrel left on the island, and deforestation was a major factor.
In order to save the kestrel in the 80’s, Mauritius got specialized assistance from foreign organisations for endangered species protection. The birds were captured, identified and monitored, and scientists developed methods that included multiple clutching, egg pulling, and artificial incubation, all within a protected perimeter in the Black River Gorges National Park. They were fed with poultry and specially bred mice.The conservation programme was a success and new birds were soon released into the wild. Today there are over 400 kestrels in Mauritius. Their survival and proliferation depends on their forest habitat. Predators such as monkeys (jacquots) seek the opportunity to pillage the nest and take the eggs and the young ones.