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Eurasian Sparrowhawk
(Accipiter nisus)
: "Northern Sparrowhawk", "Sparrowhawk"
 German name(s): "Sperber"
Size: 29-34 cm (male), 35-41 cm (female);
wing span 59-64 cm (male), 67-80 cm (female)
Weight: 110-195 g (male), 185-340 g (female)
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Eurasian Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey. Their highly
cryptic
plumage is
dimorphic, i.e.
males
and
females
are slightly different.
Male
Eurasian Sparrowhawks have an all slate-grey crown and back,
with a darker-grey supercilium and a barred pattern in two shades
of grey on the tail. Also the flight feathers are a darker shade
of grey than the rest of the back/wings. The cheeks and the front
are finely barred reddish-brown on off-white, with the barring
usually more prominent on the chest than the belly. Vent and
undertail coverts are basically off-white, with hardly any
barring.
Females
are noticeably bigger and more massive than males.
They do not have any reddish-brown on throat, chest or cheeks.
Instead, the entire front is finely barred mid-grey on off-white.
They have inconspicuous off-white supercilia. Otherwise they
resemble
males.
The irises of both sexes are yellowish-orange. The hooked beak is
yellow with a dark-grey tip; the legs and feet are yellow.
Juvenile
Sparrowhawks roughly resemble females. However,
their front is coarsely barred with bold dark-grey chevrons
and their plumage
is brownish-grey, rather than slate-grey.
"Raptors"
(or "birds of prey"), most prominently, but also some species of
waders, show a pronounced
"dimorphism", i.e.
a difference between male and female birds - not just in the appearance
of the plumage, but in
other, important properties, such as size or strength.
Here we
explain why.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Eurasian
Sparrowhawk at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk is available
HERE
.
There are 6 races of Eurasian Sparrowhawks, part of which
are migratory, while others are sedentary.
Their distribution covers a wide range across much of Eurasia
and parts of northern Africa.
Nominate race "nisus" is the
most widespread by far, breeding from Europe and west Asia to
mid-latitude western Siberia and Iran; northern populations spend
the winters in the Mediterranean, North-east Africa, Arabia and
Pakistan.
The migratory race "nisosimilis" breeds from central and eastern
Siberia, eastward to Kamchatka and Japan, and southward to northern
China. They spend the winters in an area spanning from Pakistan and
India eastwards through South-East Asia and southern China to Korea
and Japan.
The migratory race "melaschistos" breeds in mountainous areas from
Afghanistan through the Himalayas and southern Tibet to western China.
They spend the winters in the plains of South Asia.
Race "punicus" is resident in North-west Africa, to the North of the
Sahara desert.
In Europe Eurasian Sparrowhawks, race
"nisus",
are found as permanent residents throughout, except in
central Scandinavia, where they are breeding migrants, and
northern Scandinavia, where they are not found at all.
On some Mediterranean and Atlantic islands separate races
are found ("wolterstorffi" on Corsica and Sardinia;
"granti" on Madeira and the Canary Islands).
Eurasian Sparrowhawks have a preference for open deciduous
woodland, for both hunting and breeding.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "nisus"
D. Wilczynska reports spotting an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in January 2016.
A. Sarok reports finding an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Temerin, Serbia, in January 2017.
M. Thomas spotted an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Eltville, Hessen, Germany, in January 2018.
M. Eaton reports spotting an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019.
M. A. Pears reports finding an Eurasian Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Harlow, Essex, England, in October 2019.
J. Pires reports finding Eurasian
Sparrowhawks, race
"nisus",
only rarely around Mora, Evora, Portugal.
Another was found at Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, in October
2019.
G. Normand found an Eurasian
Sparrowhawk, race
"nisus",
in Kruje, Albania, in August 2021.
In the past we used to see Eurasian Sparrowhawks, race
"nisus",
occasionally in and around Wittlich, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
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Photos |
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Race "nisus"
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ADULT |
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FEMALE |
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Lateral view of a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk on a fence post
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, January 2016]
Distant dorsal view of a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk in flight,
with a view of its upperwings
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk in flight,
with a view of its underwings
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Near-frontal view of an immature (second
plumage)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, January 2018]
Frontal view of an immature (first
plumage)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Temerin, Serbia, January 2017]
Lateral view of an immature (first
plumage)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (photo courtesy of M. A. Pears)
[Harlow, Essex, England, October 2019]
Distant near-dorsal view of an Eurasian Sparrowhawk; the brown
hues on the underwing coverts and the barring on the primaries
indicate that this is a juvenile
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2016]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
