Scientific Name: Accipiter nisus
Malay Name: Helang-Sewah Erasia
Chinese Name: 雀鹰
Range: Found throughout much of the Palearctic from northwestern Africa, Europe, Central Asia, northern Indian subcontinent, northern China to Siberia with some northern populations winter south to northern Africa, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, southern China, Indochina and the Thai-Malay Peninsula
Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: nisus, nisosimilis, dementjevi, melaschistos, wolterstorffi, punicus, granti.
Local Subspecies: nisosimilis
Size: 28-38 cm
Identification: Male has slaty-grey upperparts, faint narriow supercilium, orange-rufous head-sides, faint orange-rufous bars on whitish underparts and long slender tail. Female resembles male but much bigger and has brown-tinged upperparts, more prominent whitish supercilium and no orange-rufous head-sides. Juvenile can be best separated from other accipiter species from the relatively larger size, rufous-chestnut to blackish barred underparts and whitish supercilium. Both adult and juvenile appears long-winged and long-tailed in flight, showing six prominent fingers.
Similar looking species: Chinese Sparrowhawk, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Shikra
Habitat: Wooded and open areas.
Behaviour/Ecology: The female is up to 25% larger than the male – one of the largest differences between the sexes in any bird species.
Local Status: Vagrant
Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021)
- Primary bars – an unnoticed identification feature in sparrowhawks? (ID Articles)
- Checklist Revision for September 2024 (Checklist Revisions)
Featured reports: Nov 2022
Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Eurasian Sparrowhawk)
References:
BirdLife International. (2021). Accipiter nisus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22695624A199751254.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023
DeCandido, R., Nualsri, C., Siponen, M., Sutasha, K., Pierce, A., Murray. J. & Round, P. D. (2014) Flight identification and plumage descriptions of six Accipiter species on southbound migration at Khao Dinsor, Chumphon province, Thailand. BirdingASIA, 21, 52-62.
Jeyarajasingam, A., & Pearson, A. (2012). A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press.
Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Retrieved on December 18, 2024 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/eurasian-sparrowhawk.