Tags: Poem.
The Windhover is a sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889). It was written on May 30 1877 but not published until 1918 when it was included as part of the collection Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins dedicated the poem to Christ our Lord.Windhover is another name for the Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). The name refers to the bird’s ability to hover in midair while hunting prey.