No.304 · Birds · Uncommon
Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
A fierce-eyed hawk that comes through a garden at hedge height to snatch a small bird off the feeders. The male is slate above with an orange-barred chest; the female is far bigger and browner.
When to see a sparrowhawk
All year, mostly at dawn and by day.
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Time of day
- Dawn
- Day
- Dusk
- Night
Where to see a sparrowhawk in the UK
- The New Forest. Slips between the oaks along the woodland edge.
Sparrowhawk facts at a glance
- Best time
- All year, in daylight: often the first you know of one is every bird on the feeders scattering at once.
- Where in the game
- Millbrook (garden, park, churchyard and urban) and the New Forest (ancient woodland)
- Size
- Length about 33 cm
- Wingspan
- About 62 cm
- Weight
- About 151 g for males and 266 g for females (BTO adult averages)
- Lifespan
- Typically 4 years; the oldest ringed bird lived over 17 (BTO)
- Population
- About 31,000 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016); numbers fell 25% between 1995 and 2023 (RSPB)
- Status
- Amber (Birds of Conservation Concern)
Diet
Small birds such as finches, tits and sparrows.
Habitat
Woodland, parks and gardens: anywhere with cover to hunt along.
Breeding
Usually 4–5 eggs, first laid around May, and one brood a year. The female incubates for about 33 days, and the chicks fledge after 26–31 days.
Field signs
- Every bird on the feeders vanishing at once
- Alarm calls from tits and blackbirds around a hedge
- A long barred tail and short round wings as it flicks over a fence
Did you know?
- The female is much bigger than the male: on average she weighs nearly twice as much (BTO).
- In the past, pesticides thinned their eggshells (RSPB).
- Gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them (RSPB).
Moments worth waiting for
- Raiding the garden
Every bird on the feeders scatters at once. It comes through at hedge height, feet out, and it's over the fence before you can breathe.
Photo tip
You can't follow the attack, so sit quietly near the feeders and be ready for the moment after, when it may stand on the lawn glaring at you with its catch.
Be a good naturalist
If a sparrowhawk kills at your feeders, let it be: it's a wild hunter, and persecuting one is a crime. Keep feeders near some cover so small birds have somewhere to dive.
The law
Protected, like all wild birds, by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
