Sharp-shinned Hawk Photo Gallery

Adult (Northern)

Small, long-tailed hawk with a small head. Adults are blue-gray above, with narrow, horizontal red-orange bars on the breast.

Adult (Northern)

Immature (Northern)

Note small head and large eye. The very long tail distinguishes this and other accipiters from other types of hawks. Immatures are brown overall with yellow eyes.

Immature (Northern)

Small raptor with thin legs and small feet. Immature birds are brown above with thick brown streaks below.

Adult (Northern)

Small raptor with short, rounded wings, which are often pushed forward. Note the long square-tipped tail.

Distinctive flight style of a few quick wingbeats followed by a short glide. Note fairly small head. Because of their small size, in windy conditions Sharp-shinned Hawks can appear unsteady in flight.

Immature (Northern)

Often flies with its wings pushed forward with quick and snappy wingbeats.

Adult (Madrean)

Resident birds along the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero to western Oaxaca, Mexico, are paler below with a pale cheek, a chestnut-washed belly, and chestnut leg feathers.

Adult/immature (Northern)

Short, rounded wings and very long tail are distinctive of accipiters. Although postures can change in flight, the small head nestled in crook of wings, and square-tipped tail, can be useful marks for Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Adult (White-breasted)

Adults resident from Chiapas, Mexico, south to Nicaragua have white unmarked underparts and a white cheek that contrasts with the gray crown.

Immature (White-breasted)

Adult (Plain-breasted)

Residents in the Andes from western Venezuela to Bolivia have variable underpart colors from very pale to heavily barred.

Adult (Northern)

Sometimes the white bases of the feathers on the back are visible. Note long square-tipped tail with a narrow, white terminal band.

Adult (Rufous-thighed)

Residents in eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina are nearly black above with rich chestnut-colored feathers on the legs.