The hawk is a fast flyer. Hawk bird. Hawk lifestyle and habitat How long does a hawk live

hawk bird belongs to the falcon order and the hawk family. It is also known under the obsolete this moment the name “goshawk” (according to the etymology of the Old Slavonic language, “str” means “fast”, and “rebъ” means “motley” or “pockmarked”).

Birds eagle and hawk occupy an honorable place in the mythologies and traditions of various peoples of the world, where they were often identified with the messengers of the gods. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the image of this feathered creature, believing that the hawk's eyes symbolize the moon and the sun, and the wings - the heavenly surface.

The elite units of the Slavic squads usually placed the image of a bird on their own banners, which meant courage, power and absolute ruthlessness towards enemies.

Features and habitat of the hawk

One glance is enough hawk photo in order to make sure that bird is very portly and has a slender figure with wide and short rounded wings.

The hawk has strong paws, on which are long fingers with powerful claws and a rather long tail. The bird also has its own distinctive feature in the form of white "eyebrows" located directly above the eyes, which are usually connected at the back of the head.

In some regions and countries, you can find almost black hawk. Color options birds of the hawk family there are a great many, but most often there are individuals whose color is dominated by blue, brown, black and white tones.

The eyes of adult hawks are large and usually red or dark brown, and the paws are yellow. Females are in most cases larger than males, and their weight can reach up to 2 kg with a body length of 60-65 cm and a wingspan of more than one meter. The weight of males varies from 650 to 1150 grams.

Hawks are birds of prey which can be found in various parts of our planet. They are most widespread in the North (up to Alaska) and South, in the mountainous and forest territories of the Eurasian continent.

Today, hawks settle mainly in the middle of old relict forests, since they were once driven out of open areas by numerous hunters engaged in shooting hawks, since, in their opinion, they massively exterminated their potential prey - quails and black grouse.

The nature and lifestyle of the hawk

Hawks are extremely agile birds, fast and with lightning fast reactions. They lead a predominantly diurnal lifestyle, showing the greatest activity and searching for food during daylight hours.

Male and female create a pair, which they choose once for life. A hawk pair has its own territory, the boundaries of which can stretch over three thousand hectares and are able to intersect with the boundaries of other individuals (except for the place of direct nesting of birds).

Hawks usually build their nests in thickets of old forests on the highest trees, at a level of ten to twenty meters directly from the surface of the earth.

Pictured is a hawk's nest

They can vary considerably in appearance from one individual to another, but both male and female hawks are especially vigilant during nest building, confusing their own tracks, flying from tree to tree and communicating with each other in certain sounds.

The cry of a hawk bird resembles a scream, sometimes turning into rather low vibrations (in males).

hawk food

Hawk bird - predator whose diet consists mainly of animal food. Chicks and young hawks feed on a variety of larvae, insects, and small rodents.

Having matured, they begin to hunt larger prey, such as hares, rabbits and.

Hawks can hunt once every two days because their stomach is equipped with a special "bag" in which part of the prey can be stored, gradually entering the stomach.

The hawk eats other birds and small rodents

The sight of hawks is simply magnificent, and soaring in the sky they are able to look out for their prey at a distance of several kilometers. Having tracked down its prey, the bird makes a lightning dash, not allowing it to come to its senses and grabs the prey with its powerful tenacious paws.

However, during the chase, the hawk is so concentrated on its prey that it can easily not notice the obstacle that has arisen in front of it in the form of a tree, a house, or even a train.

The call of a hawk to scare away birds today it is actively used by game hunters so that the prey comes out of the shelter in order to hastily retreat from the predator.

Reproduction and lifespan

The hawk is a monogamous bird, leading a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. They reach puberty at about the age of one year, after which they form pairs and proceed to joint process nest building.

hawk chick

The mating season varies greatly depending on the geographic location and usually runs from mid-spring to early summer. The female brings offspring no more than once a year in the amount of two to eight eggs, of which chicks are born thirty days later.

Both the female and the male take part in incubation of the eggs. After a couple of months, young hawks master all the basics of independent living and leave their parental nest.

The average life expectancy of a hawk in its natural habitat is 15-20 years, however, there are cases when individual individuals kept in captivity lived much longer.

Buy a bird today is not difficult, and the chicks hawk can be easily purchased online for 150-200 US dollars. They are most often bought by fans of falconry and lovers of wild animals.

The hawk is a bird of prey, which belongs to the subclass of the new-palatine, the hawk-like order, the hawk family (Accipitridae).

According to one version, the hawk got its name due to the speed of flight or gaze, since the stem "astr" means "fast, sharp, impetuous." Some scholars translate the hawk literally as "a bird with a sharp eye or swift, swift flight." According to another version, the name is associated with the bird's diet: jastь "eats" and rębъ "partridge", that is, eating partridges. It is possible that its color is mentioned in the name of the bird, since rębъ can be translated as “speckled, motley”.

Types of hawks, photos and names

Below is short description several species of hawks.

• Goshawk ( he is big hawk)(accipiter gentilis)

It belongs to the genus of true hawks and is the largest representative of its kind. The weight of the bird varies from 700 g to 1.5 kg. The body length of the hawk is 52-68 cm, and the wing length is 30-38 cm. Females are larger than males. For its large size, the bird is also called a large hawk. The feathers of the goshawk are shortish, slightly rounded. The tail is long and also rounded. The plumage of adult birds from above has a grayish-brown or gray-brown color. Below the body is light with transverse brown stripes. Undertail white. The hawk's head is darker. White feathers located above the eyes set off the superciliary ridge that protects the eyes and looks like an eyebrow. The plumage of females is darker than that of males. Young goshawks are brown above with buffy and whitish spots. Their abdomen is light or buffy with dark longitudinal streaks. Among the goshawks living in the northeastern regions of Siberia and Kamchatka, there are completely white hawks, some of them may have grayish spots on the back and abdomen. The claws of the bird are black, the paws and the cere are yellow, the beak is blue-brown with a black tip, the iris is yellow-orange, it may have a reddish tint.

The goshawk inhabits North America, Europe, North and Central Asia, Russia. On the African continent, it is found in Morocco.

• African goshawk(accipiter tachiro)

Representative of the genus of true hawks. It is a hardy bird with strong paws and claws. The length of her body reaches 36-39 cm. Females are noticeably larger than males. The weight of males is 150-340 g, females - 270-510 g. The back of the African goshawk is gray, in males it is darker than in females. The tail feathers and tail are gray-brown with white stripes. The chest and abdomen are light with reddish-brown streaks. Undertail is white. Legs and eyes are yellow. The cere is greenish gray.

The habitat of the African goshawk includes the central, eastern and southern regions of Africa. The bird lives in the mountains, in the lowlands, in parks and plantations, and is found in both dry and wet forests.

• Sparrowhawk ( he is small hawk)(accipiter nisus)

It lives in almost all of Europe, except for the very north, as well as in northern Africa. In Asia, the hawk's range covers southwestern China. In summer, the Sparrowhawk lives and breeds in almost the entire territory of Russia, with the exception of the far north. Sparrowhawks winter in the northeastern regions of Africa and in Western, Central and Southeast Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula - in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Sparrowhawk is very similar to its relative, the Goshawk, but is much smaller. Because of this, he received the name small hawk. The length of its body is 30-43 cm, and the weight of the hawk reaches 120-280 g. The length of the bird's wing reaches 18-26 cm. The color of these two birds is almost identical: gray or brown plumage at the top, light with transverse stripes at the bottom. Only the stripes of the sparrowhawk have a reddish tint. The undertail of the bird is white, the claws are black, the legs and wax are yellow, the iris is yellow-orange, the beak is brownish-bluish. Females, as in previous species, are larger.

• light hawk(Accipiter novaehollandiae)

Belongs to the genus of true hawks. It got its name because of its color. But this species has two morphs, or subpopulations: gray and white. The gray morph is characterized by a bluish-gray color on the top of the back, head and wings. The abdomen is white with darkish transverse stripes. In the white morph, the plumage is completely white. The body length of this species is 44-55 cm, and the wingspan of a hawk varies from 72 to 101 cm. Hawks live in Australia, including on the island of Tasmania.

• Dark Songhawk(Melierax metabates )

Belongs to the subfamily Melieraxinae, a genus of song hawks. These birds got their name because of the sounds they make, which have some melody. They have a body length of 38 to 51 cm. The wings and tarsals are slightly longer than those of other hawks, and the fingers are shorter. The color is mostly gray: darker on the back and head, and lighter on the chest and neck. The abdomen is painted in gray and white stripes. The hawk's legs are red. The dark song hawk lives in Africa, south of the Sahara, inhabiting open forests and savannahs.

• crested hawk(Accipiter trivirgatus)

Belongs to the genus of true hawks. Inhabits Southeast Asia: west and southwest of India, south of China, the islands of Indonesia, the Philippines and Ceylon, the Indochina peninsula. Appearance and the color of the bird are typical for representatives of the genus. Body length 30-46 cm. The back and top of the wings are dark, the abdomen is light with characteristic transverse stripes. A distinctive feature of the crested hawk is a crest, or crest, on the lower part of the nape.

• European Tuvik ( he is short-legged hawk) (accipiter brevipes)

This is a southern bird, representing the genus of true hawks. It has average parameters: body length 30-38 cm, weight from 160 to 220 g, wing length for the male 21.5 - 22 cm, and for the female from 23 to 24 cm. The fingers of the bird are short. The color of the plumage of the top is brownish or slate-gray, the bottom is whitish with reddish or reddish-red transverse stripes. Juveniles are distinguished by a more brown tone of color on the top and stripes. In the middle of the throat they have a dark longitudinal stripe. Short-legged hawks are found in the south of Europe, in the Balkan countries, in the south of Ukraine, in the Crimea, in the south of the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in Transcaucasia, in Asia Minor and Iran. For wintering, the tuvik goes to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, to Syria, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula. In addition to the usual food for hawks, it mainly feeds on frogs and lizards.

• red hawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus )

A bird of prey from the genus of red hawks. It has rather large forms: the length of the body is 45-60 cm and the wingspan is 110-135 cm. The male hawk weighs 635 g, the weight of females reaches 1100-1400 g. The general plumage of the body is reddish with numerous dark spots. The head and throat are light and covered with black spots. In the coloring of the chest and abdomen, there are both light and brown-red shades. In females, the abdomen is lighter than in males. The red hawk is the rarest bird of prey in Australia. It lives in the savannah and in open forest areas in the north and east of Australia, near water bodies. It feeds mainly on birds, including parrots and pigeons.

Taken from: laurieross.com.au

One of the most dangerous, fast and furious predators among birds, of course, is the hawk, which has been noticed by people since ancient times for its qualities. It got its name due to the speed and swiftness of the flight, the word "astr" means "fast", "swift". Thus, the word "hawk" can be translated as "a bird with a swift, fast flight." And this characteristic accurately describes the essence of the hawk.

Hawk - description, characteristics. What does a hawk look like?

As for notorious predators, the sizes of hawks are relatively small - the largest of the hawks - the goshawk has a weight of 1.5 kg, a wing length of no more than 30 cm and reaches a size of up to 68 cm in length. On average, the wing length of a hawk is no more than 26 cm, the weight of a hawk is 120 g, and the body length is 30 cm.

The head of a hawk always has plumage. The beak of the hawk is short, curved, strong, typical for birds of prey. At the base of the beak there is a cere, which is a bare patch of skin on which the nostrils are located.

The eyes of a hawk are usually yellow or yellow-orange. It's no secret that hawks have just the same excellent eyesight, which is about 8 times sharper than our human one. The eyes of this bird are turned slightly forward, so the hawks use binocular vision, they can clearly see the object with both eyes. No less developed among hawks and hearing, but charm is by no means their strong point.

The color of hawks is usually gray-brown, gray, brown on top, but below their bodies are light: whitish, yellowish, buffy, but with dark transverse stripes. Although there are species of hawks, such as the light hawk, with lighter colors. It also happens that hawks of the same species can be colored differently.

The paws of the hawks are yellow, the paws themselves are very powerful, with sharp claws that serve the hawks when hunting.

The wings of a hawk are short and blunt, although species living in less wooded areas (singing hawks, for example) have large wings. The structure of their wings is explained by the conditions in which hawks live. And since they live in forests, everything is arranged in such a way that they have excellent maneuverability, a hawk can deftly fly through dense thickets, make instant turns, both in the horizontal and vertical directions, take off sharply and stop just as sharply, make swift throws. Thanks to such abilities, hawks always attack their prey unexpectedly. The wingspan of a hawk is up to 125 cm.

Hawks have the ability to make "ki-ki" sounds, probably serving as some kind of communication between them. Among them there are also special singing hawks, whose sounds are very melodic, they are similar to the sound of a flute.

Where hawks live

Their habitat is very wide, it is almost the whole of Eurasia. They are found in Africa, Australia, both Americas. They like to settle in wooded areas, however, they rarely climb deep into the forest, preferring sparse, open forest edges. As a rule, hawks lead a sedentary lifestyle, with the exception of those living in the northern territories, with the onset of very very cold weather, the local hawks migrate south.

What do hawks eat

As we wrote above, hawks are incorrigible predators, the basis of their food is smaller birds, small mammals, fish, frogs, snakes, they can even attack and eat large insects. But their favorite food is the same feathered smaller birds: sparrows, finches, finches, kinglets, thrushes, tits. Sometimes hawks can also attack larger ones, pheasants, pigeons, ravens, parrots, and even hunt domestic chickens. Among the mammals that get to the hawks for dinner, there are mice, rats, voles, squirrels, rabbits, hares. But Japanese hawks sometimes hunt even.

During the hunt, cunning hawks first lie in wait for their prey, then suddenly and swiftly attack it. At the same time, hawks are able to equally deftly catch both sitting and flying prey. Grasping her with his powerful paws, he strongly squeezes her, at the same time piercing her with his sharp claws. After that, it eats its prey.

But what do little hawks eat? These young predators eat worms, flies and as a treat.

How long does a hawk live

Usually the lifespan of hawks in wild nature is 12-17 years, in the zoo they can live longer.

What is the difference between a hawk and a falcon

Hawks are often confused with other birds of prey - falcons, but let's try to describe the differences between them.

• Firstly, falcons belong to a completely different zoological species - the falcon family, while hawks belong to the hawk family.
• Falcons are larger than hawks.
• The wings of a falcon are sharp and longer (more than 30 cm in length) while those of a hawk are shorter (less than 30 cm in length), and also blunt.
• The eyes of falcons are usually dark brown, while those of hawks are usually yellow or yellow.
• The tail of falcons is shorter, while that of hawks is, on the contrary, longer.
• Falcons have a pronounced mandible tooth, hawks do not.
• Hawks and falcons hunt differently and, as a result, live in different areas. Falcons prefer open steppe spaces; they attack their prey from a great height, at high speed.
• To breed chicks, falcons have a bad habit of capturing other people's nests, while hawks do this very rarely, but they build their own nests thoroughly.

What is the difference between a hawk and a kite

Hawks are also confused with kites, below we will give the main differences between these birds.

• The kite has shorter and weaker legs compared to the hawk.
• The tail of a kite with a strong notch, in a hawk it is rounded.
• The kite's beak is more elongated and weaker than that of the hawk.
• But the wings of a kite, on the contrary, are longer than those of a hawk.
• The kite is not as skilled a hunter as a hawk, usually its diet is carrion, garbage, sometimes it can even steal food from other birds of prey. What can not be said about the hawk, an excellent and skilled hunter.

Types of hawks, photos and names

This representative of the hawk family is the largest of them, its weight reaches 1.5 kg, body length is 52-68 cm. Moreover, females are larger than males. Also because of its size, this species is also called a large hawk. Its feathers are short and slightly curled. Painted brown above, white below. It lives in Eurasia and North America, it is also found in Africa, but only in Morocco.

Hardy bird with strong paws and sharp claws. Body length is 36-39 cm, weight reaches 500 g. Colors are darker. As the name suggests, the African goshawk is native to northern, eastern and western Africa.

He is a small hawk - a very small representative of the kingdom of hawks. Its body length is only 30-43 cm, and its weight is no more than 280 g. Its color is typical for hawks. The habitat of the small hawk is almost the whole of Europe, as well as the northern regions of Africa.

It got its name due to the color - bright light. Although zoologists distinguish between two varieties of this species of hawk: gray and white, again depending on the color. Light hawks live exclusively in Australia.

Lives in Southeast Asia. A distinctive feature of this species of hawk is the presence of a comb or crest on the lower part of the nape. Otherwise, the crested hawk is similar to its other relatives.

He's a short-legged hawk. Another small representative of the hawk genus, has a body length of 30-38 cm, and a weight of up to 220 g. The paws of this hawk are short, hence the second name. It lives in the south of Europe, including in the south of our country Ukraine, and also in the Ukrainian Crimea. This species of hawks is thermophilic and, with the onset of winter cold, goes to the south for wintering - to northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Iran.

Also a very large representative of the hawk family, its length reaches 60 cm, and all 1-1.4 kg. Its plumage is reddish with various black patches. The red hawk lives exclusively in Australia, loves parrots (as food, of course) and other smaller feathered animals.

hawk breeding

Hawks are family birds that like to build solid nests for their offspring. These birds begin nest building 1.5-2 months before mating, in deciduous or coniferous forests. Nests are built, as a rule, from dry twigs.

Interesting fact: hawks are monogamous and mate for life, just like swans. They lay their eggs once a year and do this for several days. A clutch can contain from 2 to 6 eggs. The female incubates them, and the male at this time, as a decent earner, brings food.

After the chicks hatch, the male continues to bring food for a couple of weeks, but their mother feeds the little hawks. After some time, the female also begins to fly out to hunt, but for another 1-2 months, the hawk parents continue to take care of their offspring. Having matured and become independent, young hawks fly away from the parental nest forever.

Hawk Enemies

In nature, the hawk does not have so many enemies, martens and other predatory mammals can feast on the hawk if it gapes, but this happens extremely rarely.

How to feed a hawk at home

Keeping a hawk is quite an exotic thing, but nevertheless, if you have a representative of this feathered family in captivity, then keep in mind that you should feed the hawk with food that is natural for them - it is best if these are rodents bought in a special store. Of course, you can also feed the meat bought in the store, but such food will not provide the hawk with all the useful substances it needs. Also keep in mind that in captivity these birds are under severe stress and it is possible that at first the hawk will have to be fed even by force.

• In some places, small hawks settle under the nests of hawks. The fact is that hummingbirds are not of gastronomic interest for hawks, but their natural enemies: jays and squirrels, on the contrary, are very much. Thus, hummingbirds protect themselves from squirrels with the help of hawks.
• The parental connection with the maturation of the chicks is completely cut off, if the grown-up hawk, according to old memory, approaches the parental nest, its parents will drive it away like a stranger.
• The ancient Greeks and Egyptians revered the hawk as a sacred animal, and killing it was considered a criminal offense.
• Since ancient times, people have learned to use the hawk to hunt quails and pheasants.

Hawk, video

And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about hawks from the channel national geographic titled "The Goshawk - Phantom of the Forest".

September 4th, 2015 , 11:54 am

And their consequences...

Even before the war, while living in the Donbass, Vitya "Eagle" was engaged in training birds.
Actually, Kraba appeared in my hands from his hand.
Now he is busy training and coaching a young female goshawk. Yesterday, I almost lost an eye.
The learning process of some individual birds is quite complex. In particular, they are baited on pigeons.
They hold it on the hand, in a red glove. The hawk distinguishes colors very well and red, the color of blood, attracts and causes aggression. Yesterday, "Eagle" put on a thinner white glove. There were no pigeons at hand and he bought a liver. I decided to change my right hand to my left.
The bird refused to approach for a long time and looked at me very thoughtfully. I armed myself with a plastic chair, knowing full well the consequences of a raptor attack. The female flatly refused to fly on the glove. The Eagle tossed her the familiar red glove. She instantly grabbed the glove with her claws and rushed to the far corner of the basement where she was being held. After rubbing her glove and not finding the usual meat, the female literally burst into tears. She yelled so that her ears were pawned. Deceived, deceived!!!

Finally, Vitya came closer to her and attracted the attention of the bird with a red piece of meat sandwiched in a white mitten. For which he paid.
The hawk soared, and for a start dug into the jeans with its claws. First one leg, then the other. Then the "Eagle" intercepted the bird on the glove, but the hawk, completely stunned by what was happening, grabbed Vitya's face with its claws. Thank the gods, not for long. In a fraction of a second, the female saw the meat and began to intensively absorb it. But even a fraction of a second was enough.
Blood seeped through the jeans. The Eagle's face was literally covered in blood and rapidly turned blue. One claw entered a few millimeters below the eye, the second into the chin.
The spread between the wounds is 10 centimeters. Wow paw!
In a word, wild animals are not toys. Vitya is a professional, accustomed to injuries, but he was completely stunned by what happened. He couldn't even remember how it happened.

It is believed that the generic name "hawks" is composed of two Proto-Slavic roots - "str" ​​(speed) and "rebъ" (variegated / pockmarked). So the name of the bird reflects the colorful pattern of the chest plumage and the ability to quickly capture prey.

Description of the hawk

True hawks (Accipiter) are a genus of predatory birds from the hawk family (Accipitridae). They are not too large for diurnal predators - even the largest representative of the genus, the goshawk, does not exceed 0.7 m in length and weighs about 1.5 kg. Another common species, the sparrow hawk, grows to only 0.3–0.4 m and weighs 0.4 kg.

Appearance

Appearance, like the anatomy of a hawk, is determined by the area and lifestyle. The predator has excellent eyesight, 8 times sharper than the human one. The brain of a hawk receives a binocular (volumetric) image due to the special arrangement of the eyes - not on the sides of the head, but somewhat closer to the beak.

The eyes of adult birds are yellow/yellow-orange, sometimes with a hint of red or reddish-brown (tyuvik). In some species, the iris brightens slightly with age. The hawk is armed with a strong hooked beak with a characteristic feature - the absence of a tooth on top of the beak.

It is interesting! The hawk hears perfectly, but distinguishes smells not so much with the nostrils as with ... the mouth. If a bird is given stale meat, it will most likely grab it with its beak, but then it will certainly throw it away.

The lower legs are usually feathered, but there are no feathers on the fingers and tarsus. The legs are powerful muscles. The wings are relatively short and blunt, the tail (wide and long) is usually rounded or straight cut. The color of the top in most species is darker than the bottom: these are gray or brown tones. The general light background of the lower part (white, yellowish or light ocher) is always diluted with transverse/longitudinal ripples.

Character and lifestyle

The hawk lives in the thicket of the forest and nests in the highest tree to survey its hunting grounds of about 100-150 km². This forest hunter deftly maneuvers in dense crowns, turning vertically/horizontally, suddenly stopping and taking off sharply, as well as making unexpected attacks towards the victims. The compact size of the body and the shape of the wings help in this bird.

A hawk, unlike an eagle, does not soar in the sky, looking out for living creatures for a long time, but unexpectedly attacks any (running, standing or flying) object, lying in wait from an ambush. Grasping, the predator squeezes it tightly with its paws and bites with its claws, stabbing and strangling at the same time. The hawk devours the prey whole, along with hair/feathers and bones.

If a steep “ki-ki-ki” or a drawn-out “ki-i-i, ki-i-i” comes from the forest, then you heard the vocal part of the hawk. Much more melodic sounds, similar to the sound of a flute, are made by song hawks. Once a year (usually after breeding), hawks, like all birds of prey, molt. Sometimes the molt drags on for a couple of years.

How long do hawks live

Ornithologists believe that hawks in the wild can live up to 12-17 years. In the forests of North America, under the nests of hawks, hummingbirds like to settle down, fleeing from their natural enemies, squirrels and jays. Such fearlessness is easily explained - hawks prey on squirrels, but are completely indifferent to hummingbirds.

Classification, types

The genus of hawks includes 47 species, the most common of which is called Accepiter gentills, the goshawk. Birds of the Eastern Hemisphere fly to Asia for the winter, those of the Western Hemisphere fly to Mexico. The goshawk is prone to a sedentary lifestyle, but avoids settling in large forest areas. In flight, the bird demonstrates an undulating trajectory.

Accipiter nisus (Sparrowhawk) is represented by six subspecies, living from Western Europe and North Africa as far east as the Pacific Ocean. The highest population density in Europe is observed in Russia and Scandinavia. Nests lined with foliage and soft moss are built on coniferous trees, more often on spruce trees. The couple builds a new nest every year. The Sparrowhawk is an excellent hunter who needs a varied landscape with a huge number of small birds.

It is interesting! In the Caucasus / Crimea, autumn quail hunting with hunting hawks is popular, which are caught, tamed and trained for several days. Once the hunting season is over, the sparrowhawks are released.

The Sparrowhawk can be recognized by its conspicuous black plumage with transverse white lines on the abdomen.

Range, habitats

The genus Accipiter (real hawks) has taken root in all corners of the globe, excluding the Arctic. They are found almost throughout Eurasia, ranging from the forest-tundra in the north to the southern points of the mainland. Hawks have adapted to the climate of Africa and Australia, North and South America, Philippines, Indonesia and Tasmania, as well as Ceylon, Madagascar and other islands.

Birds inhabit savannahs, tropical jungles, broadleaf and coniferous forests, plains and mountains.. They prefer not to climb deep into the thicket, choosing open light edges, coastal forests and light forests. Separate types have learned to live even in open landscapes. Hawks from temperate latitudes are adherents of settled life, and birds from northern regions fly away for the winter to the southern countries.

Hawk Diet

Birds (medium and small) are of the greatest gastronomic interest for them, but if necessary, hawks eat small mammals, amphibians (toads and frogs), snakes, lizards, insects and fish. The predominant part of the menu is made up of small birds (mainly from the passerine family):

• oatmeal, sparrows and lentils;
• finches,