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Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus ORDER: FALCONIFORMES FAMILY: ACCIPITRIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Sharp-shinned Hawk Photo

© Johann Schumacher/CLO

A small hawk, the Sharp-shinned Hawk is a regular visitor to bird feeders, where it eats birds, not seed. The male and female show a greater disparity in size than any other American hawk; the female is nearly twice the weight of the male.

Inside Birding
For complete information on this species, visit The Birds of North America Online.

Appearance

Hawks
Hawks
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Small hawk.
  • Tail long, barred, and ends with a square tip.
  • Wings short and rounded.
  • Adults with blue-gray back and wings, reddish barring on underparts.

Female Description

Adult female somewhat browner on back and less heavily barred than male.

Immature Description

Juveniles brown on back and wings. Underparts with coarse brown streaks. Thin white eyestripe. Underwing white with dark brown barring. Eyes yellow.

Range Map Help

Sharp-shinned Hawk Range Map
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Similar Species

  • Very similar in plumage to Cooper's Hawk. Cooper's Hawk has proportionately longer tail, rounded at the tip. Cooper's Hawk is more robust and has a proportionately larger head. Adult Cooper's Hawk has a dark cap that contrasts with its back. Juvenile Cooper's Hawk has less streaking underneath and more white on the tip of the tail. In flight, the larger head of the Cooper's Hawk is apparent, sticking out farther in front of the wings. For more information separating the two species click here.
  • Merlin is similar to juvenile, but its wingtips nearly reach the end of the tail, not less than half way down as in Sharp-shinned Hawk. Merlin has long, pointed wings in flight, not rounded.