Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests
Click hereto see distribution map and to hear calls
The Eurasian Sparrowhawk
(Accipiter nisus), alternative
names include, Northern Sparrowhawk
or simply Sparrowhawk, is a
small bird of prey of the family Accipitridae which is in the genus Accipiter. It
has a widespread distribution across the temperate and subtropical parts of the Old World.
It is a partial migrant and in the more northern and colder parts of its range,
it disperses south for the winter. The preferred habitats include open type
wood land, hedge rows, parks and gardens where a wide variety of small to
medium sized perching birds are preyed upon. Males are up to 25% smaller than
females and tend to prey upon sparrow sized passerines but can include starlings
and thrushes. Females, on the other hand, can tackle larger prey including doves,
pigeons and magpies.
Accipiter nisus nisus
- breeds from Europe and west Asia to western Siberia and Iran;
northern populations winter south to the Mediterranean, north-east
Africa, Arabia and Pakistan.
Accipiter nisus nisosimilis
- central and eastern Siberia east to Kamchatka and Japan, and south to
northern China. This subspecies is wholly migratory, wintering from
Pakistan and India eastwards through South-East Asia and southern China
to Korea and Japan; some even reach Africa.
Accipiter nisus melaschistos - Afghanistan through the Himalayas and southern Tibet to western China, and winters in the plains of South Asia.
Accpiter nisus wolterstorffi - Sardinia and Corsica
Accipiter nisus granti - Madeira and the Canary Islands.
Accipiter nisus punicus - north-west Africa, north of the Sahara.
