Visual Search | Wizard | Browse

Bird name:

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatusOrder: FALCONIFORMES Family: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Codes: Common Name: SSHA Scientific Name: ACCSTR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175304

Head

Topo Map: Hawk-like Head

Bill Shape: Hooked
Eye Color: Variable, becoming redder with age. Grayish at hatching, then yellow, through bright orange to ruby red; yellow to orange in juveniles. Birds with red irises are likely to be in at least their third calendar year.
Head Pattern: Eyeline, Plain
Crown Color: Dark Gray
Forehead Color: Blue-gray
Nape Color: Gray
Throat Color: White
Cere color: Yellow

Recommended Products:

Body

Topo Map: Hawk-like Body

Length Range: 25-36 cm (10-14 in)
Weight: 102 g (3.6 oz)
Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
Color: White, Brown, Gray, Rufous or Rust, Buff
Underparts: White with red-brown bars.
Upperparts: Blue-gray
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
Breast Pattern: Barred or banded

Flight

Topo Map: Hawk-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Buoyant flight with several rapid wing beats between glides.
Wingspan Range: 51-71 cm (20-28 in)
Wing Shape: Broad-Wings
Tail Shape: Squared Tail
Tail Pattern: Narrow black crossbars.
Upper Tail: White with black bands.
Under Tail: White with black bands.
Leg Color: Yellow

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Small hawk with blue-gray upperparts and rufous bars on white underparts. Eyes are dark red. Wings are short and rounded. Tail is long and squared with heavy bars. Legs and feet are yellow. Flight consists of rapid wing beats followed by a short glide. Often soars on thermals.

● Song: "kik-kik-kik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Diet consists of mostly small birds, but includes small mammals, lizards, and insects; female takes larger prey than male.

● Breeding & nesting: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Four to five brown marked, white to light blue eggs are laid in a large nest built of twigs and built on a low branch in a conifer or deciduous tree. Incubation is carried out by both parents and ranges from 34 to 35 days.

● Similar species: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Cooper's Hawk is larger and has a rounded tail.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant flight with several rapid wing beats between glides.

● Range & Habitat: Sharp-shinned Hawk: Breeds throughout the U.S. as far north as Canada. Spends winters from northern U.S. to Argentina. Found in deciduous, coniferous, or mixed forests.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight3.6 Ounces

Hawk-like Head

Hawk-like Body

Hawk-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Head

Recommended Products:

Body

Flight

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Flight Pattern