Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Latin Name: 
Accipiter nisus
Category: 
Size: 
31-36cm
Description: 

Small raptor, similar in size to Shikra, but darker; adult male dark slate grey above, with more pronounced rufous-orange barring on underparts, barred tail, no mesial stripe, no contrasting wing-tips; in flight, barred underwing conspicuous; female darker grey-brown above, brown-barred below, with white supercilium; juvenile dark brown streaked with rufous above; racial variations; solitary, or in pairs; hunts like Shikra, though methods differ between sexes: male surprises small prey by swooping from cover, female larger prey in the open, after survey flight.

Habitat: 
Forest, open woodland, groves.
Food: 
Mostly birds.
Distribution: 
Kashmir eastwards throughout the region
Call: 
Call Description: 
kyek kyek kyek; kik kik kik; keew keew keew.