Quantcast

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatusOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Sharp-shinned Hawk Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Small hawk with blue-gray upperparts and rufous bars on white underparts. Eyes are dark red. Wings are short and rounded. Tail is long and squared with heavy bars. Sexes are similar, although female is usually larger. Juvenile has browner upperparts, brown-streaked white underparts, and dark brown eyes that turn yellow with age.

Range and Habitat

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Breeds throughout the U.S. as far north as Canada. Spends winters from northern U.S. to Argentina. Found in deciduous, coniferous, or mixed forests.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kik-kik-kik"

Interesting Facts

  • Adult Sharp-shinned Hawks pass food to their young in mid-air. They will hover briefly and kick the prey outward just as the fledgling arrives.
  • Large numbers are seen during migration. Over 11,000 were seen on one October day at Cape May Point, New Jersey.
  • Their common name comes from the very thin, exposed lower leg of this hawk.
  • A group of hawks has many collective nouns, including a "boil", "knot", "spiraling", "stream", and "tower" of hawks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Sharp-shinned Hawk
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Accipiter striatus
Length10 - 14 Inches
Wingspan24 Inches

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Small hawk with blue-gray upperparts and rufous bars on white underparts. Eyes are dark red. Wings are short and rounded. Tail is long and squared with heavy bars. Legs and feet are yellow. Flight consists of rapid wing beats followed by a short glide. Often soars on thermals.

● Song: "kik-kik-kik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Diet consists of mostly small birds, but includes small mammals, lizards, and insects; female takes larger prey than male.

● Breeding & nesting: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Four to five brown marked, white to light blue eggs are laid in a large nest built of twigs and built on a low branch in a conifer or deciduous tree. Incubation is carried out by the female and ranges from 34 to 35 days.

● Similar species: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Cooper's Hawk is larger and has a rounded tail.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant flight with several rapid wing beats between glides.
Sharp-shinned Hawk Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Breeds throughout the U.S. as far north as Canada. Spends winters from northern U.S. to Argentina. Found in deciduous, coniferous, or mixed forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCommon to fairly common
MigrationSome migrate
Weight3.6 Ounces