The predatory behaviour of captive wild kestrels was investiga ted to ascertain whether prolonged captivity, with no predation opportunities, could affect prey capture. Thirty kestrels were ob served. After a 48‐hour fast they were offered a live laboratory mouse. The behaviour before and after prey appearance, and la tency to predation were recorded. There was no difference in cap ture efficiency correlated with kestrel age, but adults performed preening significantly more often than young birds. Moreover, a clear inverse correlation was found between the latency of preening and of predation. Therefore, prolonged captivity associated with inactivity does not seem to exert a negative influence on predation in this species.