• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Eurasian Sparrow Hawk? Hainan Island, China (1 Viewer)

H

Hainan on the fly

Well-known member
I apologize for the poor quality of the photo but I am thinking this is an Eurasian Sparrow Hawk. I do question myself as an app I use told me it was "rare". I'm new to birding and kind of learning on the fly. I'm assuming the app is telling me it is a "rare sighting" given my location and time of year and not that it is a "rare" bird. Anyway, please let me know what you think about the identification and about my assumption about what an app might be referring to in the context of "rare". Happy birding and thanks if you find the time to offer some guidance to a newbie.

Cheers!

Brian
 

Attachments

  • Euroasian sparrow hawk.jpg
    Euroasian sparrow hawk.jpg
    277.3 KB · Views: 87
I think your ID is correct, your assumption of status is correct too, globally common but possibly uncommon / rare at your location.
 
I would say that the barring on the belly/flanks is too dark and heavy for Eurasian and it seems to be streaked on the throat but barred on the belly. This pattern fits better for juvenile Besra or Japanese Sparrowhawk. The wings also seem a bit too short for Eurasian, especially the primary projection (although this is difficult to judge from your picture). Personally I would say that this bird is a better fit for juvenile Besra (probably female).

Eurasian Sparrowhawk is quite scarce in South China - there are four species of Accipiter that are more common locally than Eurasian. They do occur regularly on migration and in winter, but I think most winter further north. We rarely have more than one or two reports each year in Hong Kong. I think there are very few confirmed records on Hainan, but that may partly reflect observer coverage and it should occur there (I've seen them migrating towards Hainan from Guangdong).

I don't know what app you are using. I know that the status on eBird is set up so that the species is treated as rare in South China. This is partly to better monitor the status in the region, so that we can be sure that records submitted are this species not another Accipiter.
 
Thanks John! Your response sparked some curiosity about the different Accipiters in Hainan. You mentioned there were four more common and I've attempted to complete the list...
Besra Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter virgatus
Japanese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter gularis
Shikra ~ Accipter badius
Chinese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter soloensis
Are these the four species you were referring too?

My second question is about the picture I posted that you thought was a better fit for a juvenile Besra. This bird was quite large and was similar in size to another bird that I think is a Shirka (I'll post an ID question on this bird in a moment). I guess my question is what percentage of the size of an adult does a juvenile get to be before it has adult markings? Maybe a better way to word this question, is does a juvenile reach adult size with juvenile markings?
 
Thanks John! Your response sparked some curiosity about the different Accipiters in Hainan. You mentioned there were four more common and I've attempted to complete the list...
Besra Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter virgatus
Japanese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter gularis
Shikra ~ Accipter badius
Chinese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter soloensis
Are these the four species you were referring too?

My second question is about the picture I posted that you thought was a better fit for a juvenile Besra. This bird was quite large and was similar in size to another bird that I think is a Shirka (I'll post an ID question on this bird in a moment). I guess my question is what percentage of the size of an adult does a juvenile get to be before it has adult markings? Maybe a better way to word this question, is does a juvenile reach adult size with juvenile markings?
 
It’s not a very clear image but the large bold flank barring and upper breast streaking (ruling out Eurasian Sparrowhawk imo), face pattern and tail length and pattern (3 narrow dark bands on relatively shorter tail ruling out Besra imo) all point to a juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk.

Just read John’s post - It seems too bulky for a Japanese?
It looks as if it’s in primary moult perhaps confusing wing length though.
 
Last edited:
Hainan on the fly said:
Thanks John! Your response sparked some curiosity about the different Accipiters in Hainan. You mentioned there were four more common and I've attempted to complete the list...
Besra Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter virgatus
Japanese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter gularis
Shikra ~ Accipter badius
Chinese Sparrowhawk ~ Accipter soloensis
Are these the four species you were referring too?

My second question is about the picture I posted that you thought was a better fit for a juvenile Besra. This bird was quite large and was similar in size to another bird that I think is a Shirka (I'll post an ID question on this bird in a moment). I guess my question is what percentage of the size of an adult does a juvenile get to be before it has adult markings? Maybe a better way to word this question, is does a juvenile reach adult size with juvenile markings?
Click to expand...

I was actually referring to Besra, Japanese S-h, Chinese S-h and Crested Goshawk. I didn't include Shikra because I'm not sure how common they are on Hainan (I've never been), but in Guangdong they are pretty scarce and I wasn't sure whether or not they would be commoner than Eurasian.

Most birds reach adult size before leaving the nest (except chickens, ducks, etc.), so yes, a fledged juvenile will be the same size as an adult.
 
Deb Burhinus said:
It’s not a very clear image but the large bold flank barring and upper breast streaking (ruling out Eurasian Sparrowhawk imo), face pattern and tail length and pattern (3 narrow dark bands on relatively shorter tail ruling out Besra imo) all point to a juvenile Japanese Sparrowhawk.

Just read John’s post - It seems too bulky for a Besra?
It looks as if it’s in primary moult perhaps confusing wing length.
Click to expand...

I had been considering Japanese as well. These two species are very similar and it may not be possible on this photo to be entirely sure one way or the other. I need to check on features for juvenile Shikra as well.

My feeling was that it seems too large for a Japanese (HOTF's latest comment also suggests it was a large bird), and that the primary projection seems too short for Japanese. Tail pattern is a bit variable in juveniles I think, and I think this is within variation of Besra.
Compare: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=8164&Bird_ID=902&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=54887&Bird_ID=905&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=

I'm slightly puzzled by your last comment, that it's too bulky for Besra. Besra is notably larger and bulkier than Japanese (at least, the taxon in south China is, maybe not so much elsewhere).
 
johnallcock said:
I'm slightly puzzled by your last comment, that it's too bulky for Besra. Besra is notably larger and bulkier than Japanese (at least, the taxon in south China is, maybe not so much elsewhere).
Click to expand...

Sorry John - I added that rather too quickly as an edit after reading your post - it should have read ‘it seems too bulky for a Japanese’! Being swayed by your comments and questioning my own suggestion of Japanese
(but perhaps a Freudian slip of not completely swayed ;))

I’ve edited my earlier post (thanks!)
 
Last edited:
Thanks John! I have spent some time looking at pictures of the different Accipters you mentioned and feel more confident about identifying them in the field. I really appreciate your time and insight.

Brian
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

T
Unknown bird call - France, Nr Grasse
Replies
4
Views
290
Tonywalsh
T
J
Eurasian sparrowhawk? Fukuoka, Japan
Replies
15
Views
1K
HouseCrow
H
Fandango739
Mountain View, California USA - longshot sparrow
Replies
6
Views
585
tom baxter
T
T
Leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk?? Possibly?
Replies
15
Views
935
Andy Adcock
Andy Adcock
C
Did Merlin Bird ID really hear these in my garden?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
6K
qwerty5
qwerty5

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top