Sharp-shinned Hawk
\nThe
Sharp-shinned Hawk,
Accipiter striatus, is a small
hawk.
Adults have short broad wings and a long square-ended tail with dark bands. They have a dark cap, blue-grey upperparts and white underparts with red bars. They have red eyes and yellow legs. Adult females are slightly larger.
Their breeding habitat is forested areas across most of
North America and parts of
Central America, although they are more common in the
boreal forest. They build a stick nest in a large
conifer or dense group of
deciduous trees.
In some parts of the
United States, they are permanent residents. Northern birds
migrate to the southern U.S. and south to
South America.
These birds surprise and capture small birds from cover or while flying quickly through dense vegetation. They often pluck the feathers off their prey on a post or other perch. They also eat rodents, lizards, frogs, snakes and large insects.
This bird declined in numbers in the
1960s and
1970s, probably as a result of the use of
DDT and other
pesticides; with the ban on their use across most of its breeding range, their population has rebounded.
This bird's name comes from its flattened thin shanks.
