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Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names
Trends & Distribution
Breeding & Survival
Biometrics
Books & Links
Order:
Accipitriformes
Family:
Accipitridae
BTO Codes:
SH , SPARR
EURING No:
2690
Number in Britain:
39 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK:
GREEN
European:
Not a species of concern
Global:
Least Concern
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Status in UK:
(A) Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies:
nisus recorded in Britain (of 7 subsp. in the world)
.
Length:
33 cm
Wingspan:
62 cm
Weight:
M: 150 g F: 260 g
Scientific name from:
L.: accipiter =hawk (from accipere =to grasp)
and L.: nisus =the sparrowhawk
World Distribution:
BREEDS: Europe, n&c Asia, WINTERS: south to n Africa & s Asia
Habitat:
Wood & fields
Diet:
Birds (Male to 100g, Female to 500g), attacks from cover, pursues for short distance
TitBit:
The female is up to 25% larger than the male, the largest difference in any bird, and is thought to be because smaller males are more agile, so better hunters of birds, which they eat almost exclusively
Population and Distribution
Population Trend:
Regional Trends:
Distribution:
New Atlas )
British Population Size:
Summer:
39 thousand pairs
in 2000
First Record:
8th Century
[Fossil evidence from
early Holocene, up to 10,000 yr ago]
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
Common in:
Deciduous Wood, Coniferous Wood
Also found in:
Scrub, Arable Farmland, Pasture Farmland, Villages
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
European Population Size:
Summer:
180 to 270 thousand pairs
(Trend in Numbers )
Birds in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
WBD(I*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), CITES(II)
Survey Results:
Breeding and Survival
Egg Size:
40 x 32 mm
Egg Weight:
22.5 g (of which 8 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records:
125
(more would be welcome!)
Clutch Size:
4 - 5 eggs
4.55 ± 1.02 (2 - 9) N = 1407
Incubation:
33 days
33.16 ± 1.37 (31 - 37) N = 1407
by the:
Female
Fledging:
27 - 31 days
28.14 ± 3.27 (22 - 34) N = 2645
as:
Altricial, downy
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Nest Record Scheme data
First Clutches Laid:
11 May (30 Apr - 29 May)
Number of Broods:
1
Trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed:
1339
Adult Survival:
0.657
Juvenile Survival:
0.390 (in First-Year)
Age at First Breeding:
1
year
Typical Lifespan:
3
years
Maximum Recorded Age:
17yr1m
(Denmark: 20yr 3m)
Biometrics
Ring Size:
D (males) E (females)
Wing Length
Sexually dimorphic (female much larger than male)
Male:
198.1 ± 6.7
190 - 207 mm, N =893
Female:
233.7 ± 7.5
224 - 245 mm, N =382
Weight
Sexually dimorphic (female much larger than male)
Male:
151.1 ± 16.41
131.0 - 180.0 g , N =681
Female:
266.0 ± 41.42 .
186.0 - 345.0 g , N =248
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data
Other Names
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Gaelic:
Speireag
Welsh:
Gwalch Glas
Danish:
Spurvehřg
Dutch:
Sperwer
Finnish:
Varpushaukka
French:
Épervier d´Europe
German:
Sperber
Hungarian:
Karvaly
Icelandic:
Sparrhaukur
Irish:
Spioróg
Italian:
Sparviere
Norwegian:
Spurvehauk
Polish:
Krogulec zwyczajny
Portuguese:
Gaviăo da Europa
Spanish:
Gavilán
Swedish:
Sparvhök
For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Newton, I. 1986 The sparrowhawk Poyser, Calton
[598.521 NEW]
van den Burg, A.B. & Newton, I. 2003 BWP Update 5:1-12
Newton, I. 1987 The Sparrowhawk Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
[Jour: S]
See Also:
BirdFacts home | BTO Home birdfacts@bto.org These data should be cited as:
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