The rufous-breasted sparrowhawk (''Accipiter rufiventris''), also known as the rufous-chested sparrowhawk and as the red-breasted sparrowhawk, is a species of

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

in the family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects ...

. It is found in

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, and

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Description

A small raptor, with a height of about 30 cm and wingspan of 72 cm, the rufous-breasted sparrowhawk is named for its distinctive rufous-coloured underparts, which can be seen both perching and in flight. It is dark grey slate-brown above, including the head, with a black bill and eyes that are yellow at all ages. In flight, the bold bars on both its wings and tail are clearly visible. Juvenile plumage ranges from the rufous-color of adults to more white, but all have feathers with dark shaft streaks on their underside. It can be differentiated from the similar

Ovambo sparrowhawk The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It takes its name from the Ovamboland in northern Namibia. Description ...

(''Accipiter ovampensis'') by its lack of a dark patch behind the eyes or white eyebrow.

Taxonomy

The rufous-breasted sparrowhawk is in the family

, and is a part of the genus ''

Accipiter ''Accipiter'' () is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Some species are called sparrowhawks, but there are many sparrowhawks in other genera such as '' Tachyspiza''. These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and ...

'', which contains sparrowhawks, goshawks, and other small woodland hawks. Within this genus it forms a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

with the

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

(''A. nisus'') and possibly the

Madagascar sparrowhawk The Madagascar sparrowhawk (''Accipiter madagascariensis'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland ...

(''A. madagascariensis'') (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001). Recent DNA barcoding research found it to be potentially conspecific with ''A. nisus'', but did not support a superspecies with ''A. madagascariensis''.

Habitat and distribution

The rufous-breasted sparrowhawk has the most restricted range of any southern African accipiter, though it has expanded with the introduction of non-native pine species. It occupies montane forest habitats from the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

to the

Ethiopian highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...

, though locally its range is quite small and divided between forest patches.

Behavior

The rufous-breasted sparrowhawk shares many behavioral qualities with other African and European accipiters, but virtually nothing is known of its diet and nestling development.

Vocalization

Its call is a series of high, fast “kew” notes, with the male being higher-pitched than the female. A more drawn out “kieee-u” is made by the female to request food from the nearby male, and is adopted by the young as a begging call whenever adults are near.

Diet

Usually hunts on the wing for doves and other small birds, but may occasionally strike from a perch to feed on insects, small mammals (including

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

sBrown M (2007) Raptors eating bats. Gabar 18: 34–35.) and reptiles.

Reproduction

Undergoes courtship by flying very high above the nesting area and calling, and mating often occurs after the male presents the female with an offer of food. Nests are platforms built from small sticks 6-18m above the ground, and are built by snapping off sticks in flight with their talons or by breaking them with their beak. A new nest is usually built each year, though often very close to the previous nesting site. Two to four eggs are laid in September and October, and are white with red-brown blotches that coalesce in a cap. Incubation is undergone primarily by the female, while the male fetches food, which is given to her in a nearby tree.

References

* Ferguson-Lees, James and David A. Christie (2001) ''Raptors of the World''. Christopher Helm, London. pp. 578–581.
Images from African Bird Club

External links

* (Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk = ) Red-breasted Sparrowhawk
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q127822 rufous-breasted sparrowhawk Birds of prey of Sub-Saharan Africa rufous-breasted sparrowhawk Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist)