Kestrels have much faster wing slaps compared to the rather slower ones of sparrowhawks. A very good indication to tell the difference between sparrowhawk and common kestrel is when they are moving. AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK, Falco sparverius, Aud. Smaller and much less bulky than Northern Goshawk, and with. Juvenile brownish above through first year. Note golden-yellow eyes, barred underparts (barring grayish on female, rusty on male). Soars occasionally, but more often seen in quick hunting flight chasing small birds, or perched quietly in shade. Although both birds are very elegant I do think that kestrels are more elegant than sparrowhawks. Fairly small, long-tailed hawk with broad, rounded wings (not pointed like kestrels). Common kestrels tend to have sharp-edged wings whereas Eurasian sparrowhawks have rather plump and rounder ones. The pattern of the chest and wings is very similar between the two birds. The two bird species have many differences in respect of appearance but if one is not yet so experienced in bird identification it can be tricky sometimes. The below measurements have been taken from vogelwarte.ch ( sparrowhawk, common kestrel) You can see in the below chart that both birds are very similar. Let’s first look at the difference in respect of the sizing of the two beautiful birds. Red-tailed Hawks are the most common and widespread hawk in North America. Raptors is a „ general term that categorizes several unrelated but similar groups of predatory birds that occupy similar niches in the environment: diurnal birds of prey (active in the daylight hours) including hawks, eagles, kites, falcons, the vultures, and the mostly nocturnal birds of prey, the owls„. Both the sparrowhawk as well as the common kestrel are called raptors. The sparrowhawk is one of our smallest birds of prey, the male being somewhere between a blackbird and a collared dove in size. I believe that some 15 or 20 years ago the order of Accipitriformes has been separated from the order of Falconiformes. Until recently both families have been grouped in the order of Falconiformes. The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) belongs to the Falconidae family. In case you managed to read my last blog entries you may already know that the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) belongs to the Accipitridae family. Location: Central Catchment Forest, Tuas South, Changi, Lorong Halus, Punggol Barat, Bidadari, Kent Ridge Park, Mount Faber, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Chinese/Japanese Gardens, Sungei Buloh, Kranji Marsh and Pulau Ubin.TAXONOMY of sparrowhawk and common kestrel The Sparrowhawks hunting technique relies on stealth it usually watches from a perch among cover for prey, then flies fast and low, again using any available. Habitat: Forest, forest edge, secondary growth, wooded areas, open country, parks and gardens.Ĭonservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021) Similar looking species: Crested Goshawk, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Besra, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Shikra Both adult and juvenile shows four prominent fingers in flight. Juvenile resembles juvenile Japanaese Sparrowhawk but has very little to moderate markings on underwing-coverts and no yellowish eyering. ![]() Male has dark red eyes and pink-washed breast while female has yellowish eyes and more rufous-washed breast. Identification: Adult Chinese Sparrowhawk can be easily separated from other accipiter species by its dark greyish upperparts, prominent orange-yellow cere, virtually unmarked underwing-coverts and black-tipped primaries. ![]() Range: Found from Siberia, China to Korea and wintering to Southeast Asia
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