Levant sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes)

Levant sparrowhawk portrait
Levant sparrowhawk portrait

Levant sparrowhawk fact file

Levant sparrowhawk description

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderFalconiformes
FamilyAccipitridae
GenusAccipiter (1)

A handsome, small-bodied bird of prey, the Levant sparrowhawk can be distinguished by its barred underparts and striking, dark red eyes. The sexes differ in size and plumage colouration, with the male being significantly smaller than the female and possessing dull blue-grey upperparts, along with a pale breast and belly which are lightly marked with pinkish or reddish bars. In contrast, the female is brown above with heavily barred underparts and a dark streak on the throat. The juvenile resembles the adult female, but has streaked rather than barred underparts and a pale spot on the nape (2). The Levant sparrowhawk produces a shrill “keeveck-veck-veck”, which is uncharacteristic of sparrowhawks and more akin to the call of the tawny owl (4).

French
Epervier à pieds courts.
Size
Length: 33 – 38 cm (2)
Top

Levant sparrowhawk biology

The Levant sparrowhawk is commonly encountered alone or in a pair around clearings on the edges of woods and sometimes on the outskirts of human settlements. An efficient predator, this species mainly consumes large insects, such as beetles, grasshoppers and locusts, as well as lizards, a variety of small birds, and mice and voles. While most hunting occurs during the day, the Levant sparrowhawk has also been observed feeding on agile, aerial prey such as bats at dusk (2).

Egg-laying takes place during May and early June, with a clutch of three to five eggs deposited in a nest constructed from sticks and twigs, which is placed on a tree branch. The eggs are incubated by the female Levant sparrowhawk for around 30 to 35 days, while the male brings food. The chicks fledge after around 45 days, but remain dependent on the parent birds for several weeks afterwards. Sexual maturity is reached at one year old (2).

The Levant sparrowhawk leaves the breeding grounds in September, migrating south to its African wintering grounds (2). During migration, large flocks may form, which travel by day and by night and hunt together. As a trade-off between conserving energy and reducing time spent migrating, this species employs a combination of passive soaring and gliding, as well as energetic flapping flight. The latter technique is particularly used towards the end of migration when individuals become separated from the main migratory stream (6).

Top

Levant sparrowhawk range

The Levant sparrowhawk has been recorded over a large range, from south-east Europe, east through southern Russia to western Kazakhstan (2), and south through the Middle East to the United Arab Emirates (1) (2) (5). A migratory species, the Levant sparrowhawk is believed to spend the winter in the east Sahel zone of sub-Saharan Africa (2).

Top

Levant sparrowhawk habitat

The Levant sparrowhawk typically occurs in wooded plains, particularly within river basins, as well as amongst foothills and mountain slopes. In the Caucasus Mountains this species can be found up to elevations of 1,000 metres, although in Armenia, it has been recorded as high as 2,000 metres (2).

Top

Levant sparrowhawk status

The Levant sparrowhawk is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).

IUCN Red List species status – Least Concern

Top

Levant sparrowhawk threats

There are no known major threats to the Levant sparrowhawk’s survival at present. Although this species’ global population size and trends are not well known, it is estimated to number between 10,000 and 100,000 individuals, and does not appear to be undergoing a significant decline (1) (2).

Top

Levant sparrowhawk conservation

While there are currently no specific conservation measures in place for the Levant sparrowhawk (1), it occurs in several protected areas (7).

Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi is a principal sponsor of ARKive. EAD is working to protect and conserve the environment as well as promoting sustainable development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Top

Find out more

To learn more about raptor conservation visit:

For more information on this and other bird species please see:

Top

Authentication

This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk

Top

References

  1. IUCN Red List (July, 2009)
    http://www.iucnredlist.org
  2. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (1994) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume Two: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  3. CITES (July, 2009)
    http://www.cites.org
  4. Peterson, R.T., Mountfort, G. and Hollom, P.A.D. (2001) A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston.
  5. Hellyer, P. and Aspinall, S. (2005) The Emirates: A Natural History. Trident Press Limited, United Arab Emirates.
  6. Stark, H. and Liechti, F. (2008) Do Levant Sparrowhawks Accipiter brevipes also migrate at night?. Ibis, 135: 233 - 236.
  7. BirdLife International (July, 2009)
    http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3427&m=1

More »Related species

Black goshawk (Accipiter melanoleucus)Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)Shikra (Accipiter badius)Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)Little sparrowhawk (Accipiter minullus)Henst’s goshawk (Accipiter henstii)Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus)Ovampo sparrowhawk (Accipiter ovampensis)

This species is featured in:

This species is featured in Jewels of the UAE, which showcases biodiversity found in the United Arab Emirates in association with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

Please donate to ARKive today

Help us share the wonders of the natural world. Donate today!

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.

Get involved

ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!

X
Close

Image credit

Levant sparrowhawk portrait  
X
Close

Link to this photo

ARKive species - Levant sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes) Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.

Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.

Read more about

X
Close

MyARKive

MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.

X
Close

Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials

Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.

Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:

  • view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
  • download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
  • teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.

End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.

Additional use of flagged material

Green flagged material 

Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.

Creative commons material

Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.

Any other use

Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.

Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.