Wildlifeof Bhutan
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Birds of Prey
Photo: Codrin Bucur (iNaturalist) · CC BY (May be cropped or resized)
Accipiter nisus
Basic stats
Diet
Woodland birds; males take tits, finches and sparrows, females thrushes and starlings
Habitat
Woodland of any type; nest of twigs in a tree up to 60cm across
Range
Temperate and subtropical Old World
Clutch size
4–5 pale blue, brown-spotted eggs
The Eurasian sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey with short, broad wings and a long tail suited to manoeuvring through trees. Adult males have bluish-grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts, and females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below. The female is up to 25% larger than the male, one of the biggest size differences between the sexes of any bird (Wikipedia, general species account).
It specialises in catching woodland birds but can be found in any habitat and often hunts garden birds in towns. Males tend to take smaller birds such as tits, finches and sparrows, and females mainly thrushes and starlings. It breeds in woodland of any type, building a twig nest, and lays four or five pale blue, brown-spotted eggs. Northern birds migrate south for winter. The sources read give nothing specific to Bhutan.
Quick answers
- What does the Eurasian Sparrowhawk eat?
- Woodland birds; males take tits, finches and sparrows, females thrushes and starlings
- What habitat does the Eurasian Sparrowhawk live in?
- Woodland of any type; nest of twigs in a tree up to 60cm across
- Where is the Eurasian Sparrowhawk found?
- Temperate and subtropical Old World
- How many eggs does the Eurasian Sparrowhawk lay?
- 4–5 pale blue, brown-spotted eggs