| Sharp-shinned Hawk | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Accipiter |
| Species: | Accipiter striatus |
The Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) is a relatively small bird of prey, similar in appearance to its relative, the Cooper's Hawk.
Description[]
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a 10-14 in (25-36 cm) raptor with a 20-28 in (51-71 cm) wingspan. The adult is slate gray above and barred in rusty red and white below, while the juvenile has solid brown upperparts and white underparts with heavy dark streaking. As in most hawks, the female is larger than the male. The Sharp-shinned Hawk can be told apart from the similar Cooper's Hawk thanks to its shorter, squared tail, which often appears notched when folded, and proportionately smaller head and neck.
Behavior[]
Sharp-shinned Hawks get a bit more gregarious at migration, sometimes traveling in small groups at that time; they are typically the most numerous birds seen at hawk watches. This species and other accipiters fly with a characteristic “flap-flap-glide” pattern: typically 3 to 6 shallow wingbeats followed by a short glide. They also take advantage of thermals and updrafts to save energy by soaring, but rarely flap steadily except when in hot pursuit of prey.
Feeding[]
Songbirds make up about 90 percent of the Sharp-shinned Hawk’s diet. Birds the size of American Robins or smaller (especially warblers, sparrows, and thrushes) are the most frequent prey; bigger birds are at less risk, though they’re not completely safe. Studies report quail, shorebirds, doves, swifts, woodpeckers, and even falcons as prey. Sharp-shinned Hawks also eat small rodents, such as mice and voles, and an occasional moth or grasshopper. While nesting, much of the food for their babies is the nestlings and fledglings of other birds. Sharp-shinned Hawks are “pursuit hunters”, often surprising their prey on the wing by bursting out from a hidden perch with a rush of speed. They are versatile: small birds may be taken in the air or on the ground; they may pounce from perches as little as 3 feet above the ground to catch rodents; and they catch some insects on the wing. Sharp-shinned Hawks make great use of cover and stealth to get close to their prey, surprising it at close range rather than diving from great heights.
Breeding and Nesting[]
During their breeding season, Sharp-shinned Hawks are quiet, elusive, and nest in solitary pairs under deep forest cover; this may be to avoid their own predation at the claws of the similar but much larger Northern Goshawk. Adults feed their young for several weeks after the young can fly, as the fledglings gain hunting skills. Throughout their range, Sharp-shinned Hawks favor conifer trees (pine, spruce, or fir) as nesting sites, but may also use aspens and hardwood trees. The nest is always placed under dense forest cover, usually toward the top of a tall tree, but well under the canopy. Most nests are anchored between horizontal limbs and the tree trunk. The nest is a broad, flat mass of dead twigs, usually conifer twigs, sometimes lined with flakes of bark. Both members of the pair bring nesting material to the site, but the female does most or all of the construction. The shallow, platform-like nest is usually 1–2 feet in diameter and 4–6 inches deep. The eggs and young often sit more on than in this wide, open-topped nest. 3 to 8 eggs are laid, 1 brood is raised per year, and incubation is mostly done by the female for around 30 to 35 days.
Distribution and Habitat[]
Sharp-shinned Hawks are distributed in most of North and South America. They are birds of the forest and forest edge, and are not found where trees are scarce or scattered, except on migration. They require dense forest, ideally with a closed canopy, for breeding. While favoring forests that contain conifers, they also nest in stands of aspen in Colorado, oak-hickory forest in Missouri, and the hardwood forests of the East. They occupy a wide range of elevations, from sea level to near treeline. In the winter season, look for Sharp-shinned Hawks at forest edges, in somewhat more open habitats than the dense forests they breed in, as well as in suburban areas with bird feeders.