Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernVertebratesForestPlatform nestMedium · 221 g

What the Eurasian Sparrowhawk sounds like

Sonogram of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call · Vains, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by René Heinrich · Kassel, Kassel, Hessen, Germany · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Christian Kahle · Begging call · Karlshagen, Germany · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Eurasian sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey with short, broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to manoeuvring through trees. Females can be up to 25% larger than males and weigh up to twice as much. Marked size difference in this direction is unusual in higher vertebrates but typical in birds of prey, and most marked in birds of prey which hunt other birds. The adult male is 29–34 cm (11–13 in) long, with a wingspan of 59–64 cm (23–25 in) and a mass of 110–196 g (3.9–6.9 oz).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Eurasian Sparrowhawk

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is September, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 99 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Iceland, Sudan, San Marino.

About the Eurasian Sparrowhawk

The Eurasian sparrowhawk, also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below. The female is up to 25% larger than the male – one of the greatest size differences between the sexes in any bird species. Though it is a predator which specialises in catching woodland birds, the Eurasian sparrowhawk can be found in any habitat and often hunts garden birds in towns and cities.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Eurasian Sparrowhawk vs Sharp-shinned Hawk · Eurasian Sparrowhawk vs Ovambo Sparrowhawk · Eurasian Sparrowhawk vs Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk

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