
Sparrowhawk
Irish Name: | Spioróg |
Scientific name: | Accipiter nisus |
Bird Family: | Raptors |
green
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Common resident, with occasional winter visitors from Continental Europe.
Identification
A small bird of prey (raptor) with broad wings with blunt wing tips and a long tail. Small hooked bill suitable for eating meat. Tail is banded in all plumages with four or five bands. The sexes are different in size, the female is larger than the male. Sparrowhawks have barred underparts in all plumages, with the barring extending across the underwings, breast, belly and flanks. Males are bluish-grey above and often have orangey-brown barring on the breast, belly and underwing coverts; the rest of the barring is brown. Females are grey above with brown-grey barring on the underparts. Juvenile birds are dark brown on the upperparts with finely marked feathers; the underparts are coarsely and irregularly barred.
Voice
The main call a rapid high pitched chattering, which is usually only heard in the breeding season.
Diet
Usually small birds which are taken when perched or in flight, sometimes after a long chase. Attacks with one or both feet, will pursue prey on foot. Sparrowhawks often utilize hedge rows or other cover, flying low on one side and then crossing over to other side to surprise its prey. Is a master of flying in woodland where it can fly through small gaps in branches pursuit of its prey, displaying great agility. Will use woodland edges, rides as well as any cover, especially cover that adjoins woodland. Will even pursue prey birds on foot over the ground.
Breeding
Probably the most common bird of prey in Ireland. Widespread in woodland, farmland with woods, larger parks and gardens. Nests in trees. Breeds throughout Ireland but is scarce in the west, where tree cover is low. Formally bird of woodland, it is now also found extensively in wooded farmland and will venture into urban gardens, where small birds attracted to bird feeders are taken, much to some people's distress.
Wintering
Resident in Ireland. Can be seen throughout the country, although numbers will be low in the some parts of the west. Resident birds will be joined by wintering birds from Britain and Europe.
Monitored by
Countryside Bird Survey & Garden Bird Survey.
Blog posts about this bird

Irish Garden Birds 2020 - How much do your garden birds weigh?
There's still time to get started with the Irish Garden Bird Survey! It's the biggest and longest-running survey of it's kind in Ireland. We need as many people as possible all over the country to take part this winter. Taking part couldn't be easier - See here for details on how to participate this winter . See below for information on how much your garden birds weigh, and why feeding them at this time of year is so important!
The Irish Garden Bird Survey is kindly sponsored by Ballymaloe. Click below to learn about taking part this winter.

Less than 10 grams (two bank cards)
The smallest bird in Ireland is the Goldcrest – they weigh a mere 6g on average but can range from 4.7g (i.e. less than your bank card!) to 6.1g. Not far behind them, with average weights of 9-10g are Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Treecreeper and Wren. These species will be the most active in your garden over the winter because the days are so short that they literally need to be feeding non-stop throughout the day to maintain their weight and survive the night!
10-20g (two to four bank cards)
Some individual Blue Tits and Lesser Redpolls might come in at under 10g, but generally they average around 11g and can range up to 12.5g on a good day! Siskins are only slightly bigger at 13g, and then you have Goldfinch (17g), Great Tit (18g) and Robin (19g). Robins play it smart by staying territorial in the winter, and even the females will guard a territory – sometimes one where there’s suitable food but a lack of nesting space so it wouldn’t have been a core territory during the summer. By identifying somewhere with a suitable food source and aggressively guarding it, they save themselves a lot of energy and trouble having to range far and wide in search of food. Goldfinches do the opposite by flocking, but the more eyes in a flock the more likely you are to find food.20-30g (four to 6 bank cards, or 3 or 4 € coins)
Despite looking much chunkier and heavier, Bullfinches weigh the same on average as the slimline Pied Wagtail (both 21g), and our wintering Blackcaps are the same. Chaffinch weigh in at 24g on average, and it won’t surprise you that House Sparrow (27g) and Greenfinch (28g) are at the top end of the scale when it comes to ‘small’ garden birds. Still, as heavy as they might be, you’re still talking a few bank cards, or four €1 coins! When you think about the battle for survival that these birds face day in day out, it’s amazing that something so small and slight can achieve so much! Don't forget, in the case of the Chaffinch some of the birds in your garden will have migrated from as far away as Scandinavia, in the hope that their chances of finding food and surviving the winter are better here, even taking into account the pressures of migration.


Collared Doves look only a bit smaller than Woodpigeons, but actually Woodpigeons weigh twice as much!
Lastly there’s the exception to the rule of sexes. Amongst many birds of prey the female is actually bigger than the male, and it’s the same for Sparrowhawks. Females weigh on average 266g (range 186-345g), while males are a third smaller at 151g (range 131-180g). Such a big discrepancy between such specialist birds means that male and female Sparrowhawks will actually target very different-sized prey to each other.
Male Sparrowhawks are a third smaller than females.
When you realise just how small most of our garden birds are, you can really appreciate the importance of a reliable food source for them, particularly during the winter! Remember, BirdWatch Ireland needs your support now more than ever, and our annual membership makes for a great christmas gift that will keep on giving throughout the year! See here for full details.The Irish Garden Bird Survey is running right now and taking part couldn't be easier! Click here for full details about the survey as well as as advice on caring for your birds through the winter.
This winter we're running a series of blogs like this one, filled with facts and figures about your favourite garden birds, click here for more.
We are hugely grateful to Ballymaloe for their sponsorship and support of the Irish Garden Bird Survey.
Click below to download your count form for this year's Irish Garden Bird Survey.