Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus
Small hawk with relatively short rounded wings. Adults are gray above with pale orange barring below; immatures are browner and streaky. Very similar to Cooper's Hawk, especially in plumage, but smaller overall with smaller head, more squared-off tail, and more petite feet. Also note quicker, snappier wingbeats. Breeds in extensive forests. Feeds mainly on birds captured in flight. Often stalks feeders in search of prey.
Identification
The sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) or northern sharp-shinned hawk, colloquially often nicknamed sharpie, is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species, white-breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius). The American Ornithological Society and some other checklists keep all four species conspecific. A recent genetic study additionally recommended splitting the three Caribbean island populations as three additional separate species, though this has not yet been adopted by any of the ornithological authorities.
Taxonomy
Genus: Accipiter; Family: Accipitridae; Order: Accipitriformes.
- Scientific name
- Accipiter striatus
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Accipiter
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-legged Pigeon
Columba pallidiceps
Body is mostly iridescent green below and dark blue above and on the wings, with diagnostic bright yellow legs and a bright silver head with pinkish yellow-tipped bill. Most often seen in flight in small flocks over forest canopy at dusk and dawn, where flocking behavior and combination of silver head and bright yellow legs are diagnostic. Seems to prefer primary and well developed secondary forest between sea level and 1300 meters of elevation, though more frequently seen in forest above 400 meters. Metallic Pigeon is superficially similar but has a dark cap and pink legs, whereas Yellow-legged Pigeon shows an entirely silver head and distinctly yellow legs. Metallic Pigeon also does not perform flock flights at dawn and dusk. Although mostly quiet, Yellow-legged sometimes utters a typical pigeon-like low-pitched “hooOO hooOO.”
Band-bellied Owl
Pulsatrix melanota
Impressive, strongly-patterned owl of cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes. Note brown breast, banded belly, and white “X” on otherwise dark face. Juvenile is creamy white with a black mask. Usually first detected by its far-carrying song that is often given as a duet. One owl starts with a pulsing series of low-pitched, guttural notes. Another owl responds with a similar vocalization but at a slightly different pitch, and after a few moments the first owl sings again.
Brown Tit-Babbler
Macronus striaticeps
A fairly small bird of forest and scrub from the lowlands to middle elevations in the mountains. Rufous on the back, wings, and tail. Black head is streaked white, with creamy throat blending to pale rufous underparts with pale streaking on chest and down the sides of the throat. Races differ. Sulu birds have a brown crown, less streaking, and uniformly buffy underparts. Brown Tit-Babbler is somewhat similar to Visayan and Mindanao Pygmy-Babblers, but has a pale throat. Voice includes a varied whistled duet, plus various rasps and chatters.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.