- Accipiter virgatus
Identification
29-36cm
- Ashy blue-grey upperparts
- White below crossed barred with rusty brown
- Dark vertical throat stripe
- Short broad wings
- Long tail
Female is larger and has browner upperparts
Juvenile: dark brown upperparts
- White underparts, barred brown
- Barred tail
Distribution
South Asia from Pakistan and India to south China and Indonesia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 11 subspecies:
- A. v. affinis:
- A. v. fuscipectus:
- Mountains of Taiwan
- A. v. besra:
- A. v. abdulali:
- A. v. nisoides:
- Myanmar, Thailand and northern Malay Peninsula
- A. v. confusus:
- Philippines (Luzon, Mindoro, Negros and Catanduanes)
- A. v. quagga:
- Philippines (Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Siquijor and Mindanao)
- A. v. rufotibialis:
- Northern Borneo
- A. v. vanbemmeli:
- A. v. virgatus:
- A. v. quinquefasciatus:
- Flores (Lesser Sundas)
Habitat
Dense montane forests; in winter open woodland (preferably with large trees) including groves, savanna and cultivated areas.
Behaviour
Breeding
It nests in trees, building a new nest each year; 2-5 eggs are laid.
Diet
The diet includes small birds and dragonflies, lizards and mammals.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- AvianWeb
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Besra. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 June 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Besra
External Links



