The Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus



The female is bigger, with a dark brown back and brown underparts.
The male has a slate-grey back and reddish underparts.
The tail is very long and cut at a right angle, its wings are short, broad and rounded.
Both sexes have thick dark grey bars on their breast.
The bird’s claws and legs are yellow and long.
It is a solitary hunter which exploits the speed of its flight to capture small and medium-sized birds by surprise.
Indeed due to its long tail and compact rounded wings it can fly low amongst trees and stoop onto its prey in surprise attacks.
In addition to birds and rodents the Sparrohawk feeds on insects but always avoids feeding on dead animals.