Blue is a male American Kestrel. How do we know he is a male? Unlike most raptors who are sexually monomorphic, American Kestrels are sexually dimorphic. This means males and females display differences other than their sex organs. In this case Blue displays blue coloring on his wings and head, a flashy feature the female Kestrels lack.
You may have observed in this picture of Blue his left wing looking slightly misplaced. Early in life he suffered a broken wing which failed to heal in a proper position. This injury has left him unable to fully fly. He enjoys short flights from perch to perch in his flight cage and can “hunt” for his food by making short flights to the fist of his keeper or to a given perch.
Blue is tiny. He weighs about 120grams. His metabolism is quite high. Much higher than Maximus or Sassy. All of our birds are weighed on a regular basis to ensure their health and well-being. However, it is especially important to keep close records of Blue’s weight. Therefore, like all of our birds, he is asked to take a perch on the scale.
Here you can see Blue is weighing in at 117 grams. A healthy boy ready to get some exercise and a meal. Return HOME to read about our other birds at Rise Raptor Project.