Scientific Name: Accipiter badius
Malay Name: Helang-Sewah Pudar
Chinese Name: 褐耳鹰
Range: Resident in Africa, central Asia and Indochina. Small numbers migrate south in winter.
Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: sphenurus, polyzonoides, cenchroides, dussumieri, poliopsis, badius.
Size: 30-36 cm
Identification: Adult male distinct with red iris, strong orange barrings on underparts, greyish upperparts with black wing tips. Female similar, with slightly browner uppersides and yellow iris. Juveniles has brownish upperparts, with tear drop shaped underparts. As with all Accipiters the shape of the bird in flight is very useful in identification. Shikras show five "fingers", a proportionally longer tail compared to all other local Accipiters (except Eurasian Sparrowhawk, which has six "finger" instead).
Similar looking species: Crested Goshawk, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Besra, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard
Habitat: Woodland.
Behaviour/Ecology:
Local Status: Vagrant
Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021 Accipiter badius)
- RAP201: How to Identify Uncommon Raptors (ID Articles)
- Bird List Revision for August 2020 (Revisions)
- Year in Review – 2022! (Blog)
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Shikra)
References:
BirdLife International 2021. Accipiter badius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.. 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.
Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Singapore Birds Project. (n.d.). Shikra. Retrieved on May 29, 2023 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/shikra.