The Sharp-shinned Hawk is one of the most common, yet most secretive, raptors in North America. It is like a miniature Cooper's Hawk that gets its name from the sharp edge to the front of its legs. It is a small, robin-sized, very manoueverable, forest hawk that occurs mainly in boreal forests. During migration it can occur in any treed area. Adults are dark gray above with a cinnamon chest and belly barred with white. The tail and wings are strongly barred and the vent is pure white. The head is gray, the throat pale, and the eyes are orange (young adults) to red (full adults). The beak is gray at the tip, pale at the base, and with a yellow cere. The legs and feet are yellow. Colors of adult males are brighter than adult females. Immatures are brown above and streaked with brown and white on the chest and belly; their wings and tails are strongly barred, as with adults. In flight, Sharp-shinned Hawks have short, rounded wings and a square-tipped tail. It soars and glides on level wings with a slight bend at the wrist.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk feeds mainly on small birds that live in woodlands and along forest edges. Males and females differ in sizes and because they look similar to Cooper's Hawks, a female Sharp-shinned Hawk may be difficult to separate from a male Cooper's Hawk. The surest way to distinguish between them is to hear their voices near their nest.
SIZE
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is strongly sexually dimorphic in size, with females being up to 50 percent larger than males. It is the smallest of the three accipiter hawks and, of all our hawks and falcons, is larger than only the American Kestrel. Lengths average 12 inches (31 centimeters) for females and 10 inches (26 centimeters) for males. Wingspans average 25 inches (62 centimeters) for females and 21 inches (54 centimeters) for males. Weights average 6 ounces (177 grams) for females and 3.6 ounces (101 grams) for males. The largest females may reach weights of half a pound.
MORPHS
There are no light or dark color morphs for this species. Albinism is known to occur very rarely. Individual birds have been reported with white wings, partially albino tail feathers, and white mottling in some body feathers. This is especially true in immatures that show white mottling on dorsal areas when the feathers are fluffed.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Adult - Perched
- dark to slate-blue or gray back including nape and head
- head always round-looking because hackles are not raised
- long strongly barred (black on gray) tail, usually square-tipped or slightly notched
- tail with three to four dark bands of equal width
- narrow or thin terminal tail band
- small rounded head with orange (young adults) to red (full adult) eyes
- yellow legs and feet
- cinnamon chest and belly finely barred with white
- wingtips extend less than half way to tip of tail
Immature - Perched
- brown back, head, nape, and top of wings
- head always round-looking
- long strongly barred (brown on buff) tail, usually square-tipped or slightly notched
- three to four dark bands of equal width
- small rounded head with grayish or greenish eyes
- pale line above eye
- yellow legs and feet
- whitish underparts heavily striped with reddish brown
- wingtips extend less than half way to tip of tail
SIMILAR SPECIES
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is most often confused with the similar-looking Cooper's Hawk. The Sharp-shinned Hawk is much smaller on average. In flight, the Sharp-shinned Hawk has a small and narrow head and wings that jut forward at the wrist whereas the Cooper's Hawk has a bulkier head and holds its wings straighter. The Sharp-shinned Hawk usually has a square-tipped tail with a thin white terminal band and Cooper's Hawk usually has a rounded tail with well-defined and wide white terminal band. Immature sharpies appear dark below in flight whereas immature Cooper's appear light. Also streaks on the underside of a Cooper's Hawk appear thin while those on a Sharp-shinned Hawk are heavier and darker which makes them appear darker or lighter. Finally, sharpies flap their wings more quickly than the Cooper's Hawk.
Merlins and American Kestrels are similar-sized raptors, but both have the characteristic sharply-pointed wings of a falcon.
OTHER NAMES
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is also known as "chicken hawk", "little chicken hawk", "sharpshin", "sharpy", "bird hawk", and "little blue darter."
ETYMOLOGY
The scientific name Accipiter striatus translates into "striped bird of prey". The striped "striatus" name refers to the streaked underparts of immatures.
MYTHOLOGY
None is known.
VOICE
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is usually silent except during the breeding season. Mates often duet early in the nesting season. Males give a sharp, clearly spaced "kip...kip" when arriving in the nesting territory. Their alarm call is a long series of sharp "kik...kik...kik...kik" or "kew...kew...kew...kew". Both sexes cackle and squawk during copulation.
