Kennel, is a sporting term for the den in which a fox deposits himself after his nocturnal depredations, and to which he retires about the dawn of day: being found by the hounds in drawing covert, he is then said to be unkennelled, and the chase begins. When safe in some burrow, or hole, below the surface, he is then said to lie at earth.—Taplin.
Kennel, v. To lie, to put or keep in kennel.
Kestrel, Stonegall, Stannel Hawk, or Windhover, (Falco Tinnunculus, Linn.; La Cresserelle, Buff.), s. A kind of bastard hawk.
THE KESTREL.
The male of this species differs so much from the female, that we have given a figure of it from one we had in our possession, probably an old one. Its length is fourteen inches; breadth two feet three inches: its bill is blue; cere and eyelids yellow; eyes black, the forehead dull yellow; the top of the head, back part of the neck, and sides as far as the points of the wings, are of a lead colour, faintly streaked with black; the cheeks are paler; from the corner of the mouth on each side there is a dark streak pointing downwards; the back and coverts of the wings are of a bright vinous colour, spotted with black; quill feathers dusky, with light edges; all the under part of the body is of a pale rust colour, streaked and spotted with black; thighs plain; the tail feathers are of a fine blue grey, with black shafts; towards the end there is a broad black bar both on the upper part and under sides; the tips are white: the legs are yellow, and the claws black.
The kestrel is widely diffused throughout Europe, and is found in the most temperate parts of North America: it is a handsome bird; its sight is acute, and its flight easy and graceful: it breeds in the hollows of trees, and in the holes of rocks, towers, and ruined buildings it lays four or five eggs, of a pale reddish colour: its food consists of small birds, field-mice, and reptiles; after it has secured its prey, it plucks the feathers very dexterously from the birds, but swallows the mice entire and discharges the hair, in the form of round balls from its bill. This bird is frequently seen hovering in the air, and fanning with its wings by a gentle motion, or wheeling slowly round, at the same time watching for its prey, on which it shoots like an arrow. It was formerly used in Great Britain for catching small birds and young partridges.
The Female Kestrel.—This beautiful bird is distinguished from every other hawk by its variegated plumage: its bill is blue; cere and feet yellow; eyes dark coloured, surrounded with a yellow skin; its head is rust coloured, streaked with black: behind each eye there is a light spot; the back and wing coverts are elegantly marked with numerous undulated bars of black; the breast, belly, and thighs are of a pale reddish colour, with dusky streaks pointing downwards, vent plain; the tail is marked by a pretty broad black bar near the end; a number of smaller ones, of the same colour, occupy the remaining part; the tip is pale.
This is one of our most common species, being very generally spread throughout the kingdom, especially in the more rocky situations and high cliffs on our coast, where they breed. The nest is made of a few sticks, loosely put together, and lined with wool and other soft materials, built in trees, in some crevice, or projecting rocky shelf, and sometimes they content themselves with the deserted nest of a crow or magpie. It lays four or five eggs of a dirty white, blotched over with rust-colour of various shades; sometimes wholly covered with a deep rusty red; these are rather inferior in size to those of the sparrow hawk.—Bewick—Montagu.