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;Accipiter minullus | ;Accipiter minullus | ||
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==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
Photographed: Mkhuze, KZN, RSA. | Photographed: Mkhuze, KZN, RSA. | ||
Revision as of 14:26, 20 June 2007
- Accipiter minullus
Identification
Photographed: Mkhuze, KZN, RSA.
English: Little sparrowhawk; French: Épervier minule; German: Zwergsperber; Spanish: Gavalancito Chico.
9.1–10.6 in (23–27 cm); male 2.6–3 oz (74–85 g); female 2.4–3.7 oz (68–105 g). Small gray hawk with lightly barred underparts.
Distribution
Africa: southern Sudan and Ethiopia, south to South Africa, and west to Angola and Namibia.
Taxonomy
Falco minullus Daudin, 1800, Gamtoos River, South Africa. Monotypic.
Habitat
Woodland and forest patches, often along rivers or in valleys. Occasionally, small plantations of exotics in savanna.
Behaviour
Apparently sedentary. A tiny but bold hunter. Typically, flies at speed from perch, winding agilely through foliage, to catch prey on wing. Specializes on small birds from 0.4–1.4 oz (10–40 g). Occasionally takes small bats, lizards, and insects. Breeds as solitary pair in March–April in northeast Africa, mostly October–November in southern Africa. Monogamous. Builds a small stick nest of twigs lined with green leaves, high in a tree fork. Usually two eggs; incubation 31 days; fledging about 26 days.
