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Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)



Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) Flight

Class: Aves
Family: Accipitridae
Common Name: Sharp-shinned Hawk
Genus: Accipiter
Species Name: striatus

About The Sharp-shinned Hawk

The Sharp-shinned Hawk is often confused with its slightly larger relative, the Cooper’s Hawk. Both species are blue-gray above and streaked rusty-red below with long tails, yellow legs, and small, hooked beaks. However, the Sharp-shinned Hawk has a squared-off tail (Cooper’s Hawks have rounded tails), and is slightly smaller at 10-14 inches long. The Sharp-shinned Hawk exhibits the greatest difference in size between males and females (known as sexual dimorphism) of any raptor in North America, with females weighing almost twice as much as males. The Sharp-shinned Hawk also breeds less widely than the Cooper’s Hawk. While that species breeds across the United States and southern Canada, the Sharp-shinned Hawk’s main breeding range is restricted to the Canadian sub-arctic and higher elevation areas of the Appalachians and Rockies. This species migrates south in winter, when it may be found more widely across the U.S.In its range, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is among the most adaptable raptors. While usually found in forest habitats, this species has expanded into human-altered landscapes and now frequents towns and suburbs as well. The Sharp-shinned Hawk, like all ‘bird hawks,’ is capable of hunting birds from the air. In fact, this species is known for entering yards to take small songbirds from feeders. With the aid of binoculars, Sharp-shinned Hawks may be seen perched in trees while scanning for prey. However, they are often more easily seen in the air while moving between perches or while actively hunting. As this species hunts by sight, it is only active during the day.



Rights Holder: Unknown
Bibliographic Citation: Rumelt, Reid B. Accipiter striatus. June-July 2012. Brief natural history summary of Accipiter striatus. Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.

Trips Where Observed

Brazil
Colombia
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Ecuador
Mexico
Mexico, Veracruz
Newfoundland
San Francisco 2007

Member Lifelists

California
Ecuador
Mexico
My Yard
North America
San Francisco
South America
United States
World

Sites Where Observed

Location
Date
Notes
8/10/2006
Saw one on a hike into a dry canyon.
12/22/2006
ssp. ventralis (Plain-Breasted Hawk)
10/10/2007
saw a couple in migration flyover.
2/20/2014
On a pole at the corner of 25th and Bryant.

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