Levant sparrowhawk
The Levant sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey. It measures in length with a wingspan of. The female is larger than the male, but the difference is not as marked as with Eurasian sparrowhawk. The adult male is blue-grey above, with dark wingtips, and barred reddish below.
It breeds in forests from Greece and the Balkans east to southern Russia. It is migratory, wintering from Egypt across to southwestern Iran. It will migrate in large flocks, unlike the more widespread Eurasian sparrowhawk.
Taxonomy
The Levant sparrowhawk was formally described in 1850 by the Russian naturalist Nikolai Severtzov under the binomial name Astur brevipes. The species was formerly placed in the large and diverse genus Accipiter. In 2024 a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae confirmed earlier work that had shown that the genus was polyphyletic. To resolve the non-monophyly, Accipiter was divided into six genera. The genus Tachyspiza was resurrected to accommodate the Levant sparrowhawk together with 26 other species that had previously been placed in Accipiter. The resurrected genus had been introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ταχυς meaning "fast" with σπιζιας meaning "hawk". The specific epithet combines Latin brevis meaning "short" with pes, pedis meaning "foot".It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the shikra, though it differs in measurements, proportions and plumage, and breeds contiguously with the latter over at least part of its range. Along with the shikra, the Chinese sparrowhawk and the Nicobar sparrowhawk, it makes up a complex species group. It is known to have hybridised with the shikra and the Eurasian sparrowhawk. Despite its extensive range, no subspecies are recognised.
Description
The Levant sparrowhawk is a small raptor with short broad wings and a longish tail, both adaptations to maneuvering through trees. It is similar to the Eurasian sparrowhawk, but its shorter tail and more pointed wings give it a more falcon-like appearance. It is much smaller than most raptors, measuring in length with a wingspan of. As with all birds of prey, the female is larger than the male. The male is blue-grey above and pale below, with underparts and leg feathers finely barred in rufous and white. His head is blue-grey as well, with a white throat bisected by a dark central stripe. The female is slate-grey above with darkish wingtips and is barred reddish brown below and may show a dark throat line. Both sexes have orangish-yellow legs and a yellow cere. The juvenile is dark brown above, has dark-streaked underparts and it shows a dark throat line.Behaviour
Breeding
The Levant sparrowhawk breeds from mid-May through August. The pair is territorial while breeding, often performing high-circling aerial displays. The female is thought to make the nest. She builds a new one every year, a small structure of twigs on a branch or in a fork of a broad-leaved tree. The nest tree is often near running water, typically in open woodland, on a forest edge, or in an isolated clump of trees. The nest, which measures up to across and deep, is lined with green leaves. Most nests are located between above the ground, but they have been found as low as and as high as.The female lays a clutch of which she alone incubates for. Hatching is asynchronous. Nestlings fledge some after hatching and are independent about later.