A - Z Garden Bird Identification Index
(Accipiter nisus)
There are few more dramatic garden visitors than a Sparrowhawk. One moment your feeders are alive with birds, and the next there is a blur of wings and an empty garden. These small, agile birds of prey have adapted remarkably well to suburban life, using gardens and their feeders as hunting grounds. Although they can be an unsettling sight for anyone who feeds garden birds, seeing a Sparrowhawk is a fascinating glimpse of nature at work.
What do sparrowhawks look like?
The Sparrowhawk is a relatively small bird of prey, measuring around 28–38 cm in length, with a wingspan of approximately 55–70 cm. Despite its name, it isn't especially small compared with some other garden birds, but its compact body, rounded wings and long tail make it perfectly adapted for fast, agile hunting.
Male and female Sparrowhawks are very different in size and appearance. This is known as sexual dimorphism, and the difference between the sexes is particularly noticeable in this species.
The male Sparrowhawk is smaller and more delicately built, with blue-grey upperparts and finely barred orange-brown or orangey-red underparts. His cheeks can also have a warm reddish tone.
The female Sparrowhawk is considerably larger, with brown-grey upperparts and pale underparts marked with prominent horizontal brown barring. Juveniles look similar to females, although their underparts tend to have more vertical, heart-shaped or streaky markings rather than the finer barring of an adult female.
Both sexes have striking yellow eyes, yellow legs and yellow feet, although the eyes of older birds can become more orange. In flight, look for the combination of broad, rounded wings and a long tail, giving the bird a distinctive T-shaped silhouette.
Perhaps the easiest way to recognise one in the garden is not its plumage at all, but its behaviour. A sudden explosion of small birds from your feeders, followed by a fast, low-flying bird weaving between shrubs and fences, is often the first clue that a Sparrowhawk is nearby.
Sparrowhawk call/song – What does a Sparrowhawk sound like?
Sparrowhawks are generally quiet birds, particularly when hunting. Their main call is a rapid, high-pitched “kek-kek-kek” or “ke-ke-ke”, often heard when a bird is alarmed or during the breeding season.
In a garden, you may be more likely to hear the alarm calls of the smaller birds than the Sparrowhawk itself. If every Blue Tit, Chaffinch and House Sparrow suddenly starts calling loudly or disappears into cover, it can be a useful warning that a Sparrowhawk is close by.
How long do Sparrowhawks live for?
Sparrowhawks have a typical life expectancy of around four years once they reach breeding age, although individual birds can live considerably longer. The current BTO longevity record is 17 years, 1 month and 11 days for a ringed bird.
Sparrowhawks can begin breeding when they are just one year old, although surviving their first year is one of the biggest challenges for young birds.
Habitat & Nesting
Where do Sparrowhawks live?
Sparrowhawks are woodland birds that have adapted extremely well to living alongside people. They are widespread across most of Britain, although they are much less common in the northern Scottish uplands and some offshore islands.
Their traditional habitat is deciduous and coniferous woodland, but they are equally at home in farmland, parks and suburban areas where there are enough trees and hedges to provide cover.
Gardens are particularly useful hunting grounds because they concentrate small birds around feeders. A Sparrowhawk can use fences, hedges, trees, sheds and buildings as cover before making a sudden dash towards its prey.
This means that if you regularly feed birds, particularly in a garden with plenty of shrubs and trees, there is a reasonable chance that a Sparrowhawk may eventually discover your garden too.
Where do Sparrowhawks nest?
Sparrowhawks usually nest in trees within woodland, choosing a concealed position where the nest is protected by surrounding branches and foliage. The nest is a relatively flat, cup-shaped structure made from small twigs and lined with finer material such as bark chips and small twigs.
They generally choose mature woodland or blocks of trees rather than isolated garden trees, although a large, well-established garden with plenty of mature trees can form part of a Sparrowhawk's territory.
Sparrowhawk nesting habits
Sparrowhawks usually have one brood a year. Breeding begins in spring, with the female laying a typical clutch of four or five eggs.
The eggs are pale blue or blue-white and marked with brown or reddish speckles. Incubation is carried out almost entirely by the female and lasts for around 33 days.
Once the chicks hatch, the female initially remains with them while the male brings prey to the nest. As the young grow, both parents become involved in supplying food. The young typically leave the nest after around 27–31 days, although they remain dependent on their parents for some time afterwards.
Young Sparrowhawks can be surprisingly noisy once they have fledged. Their persistent begging calls can make it much easier to work out where a family is hiding among the trees.
Unlike the original copy suggests, Sparrowhawks should not be described as reliably returning to the same nest every year. Pairs may establish breeding territories close to previous nesting sites, but individual birds can change partners and nests between seasons.
Where do Sparrowhawks sleep?
Sparrowhawks generally roost at night in trees and dense vegetation, choosing sheltered positions where they are protected from the weather and hidden from potential predators.
Recently fledged young may continue to use the nesting area or nearby branches as a safe place to settle while they are still dependent on their parents.
Where do Sparrowhawks go in the winter?
Sparrowhawks are resident in the UK and can be seen throughout the year. They do not leave Britain as a species for the winter.
You may notice them more frequently in gardens during autumn and winter. This is partly because young Sparrowhawks are dispersing and exploring new territories, while gardens can contain large concentrations of small birds attracted by supplementary feeding.
That doesn't necessarily mean there are more adult Sparrowhawks around. Instead, winter can make their hunting behaviour particularly obvious.
Diet & Feeding
What do Sparrowhawks eat in the wild?
Sparrowhawks are specialist predators of small and medium-sized birds. Their prey includes tits, finches, sparrows and thrushes, with the exact prey depending on the size and sex of the Sparrowhawk.
The larger female is capable of taking substantially larger prey than the smaller male.
Their hunting technique is perfectly suited to gardens. Rather than soaring above looking for prey, Sparrowhawks use surprise, speed and manoeuvrability. They can fly rapidly through narrow gaps between trees, shrubs and buildings, using cover to get close before launching a sudden attack.
This is why a Sparrowhawk can seem to appear from nowhere.
What should you feed Sparrowhawks in the garden?
There isn't a specific food you should put out for Sparrowhawks. They are predators and obtain almost all of their food by hunting live prey.
In a rather wonderful example of how interconnected a garden ecosystem can be, however, the birds you feed may indirectly support Sparrowhawks. Your feeders attract seed-eating birds, and those birds can in turn attract predators.
This doesn't mean you should stop feeding garden birds simply because a Sparrowhawk visits. Predation is a natural part of a healthy ecosystem.
Where should you feed Sparrowhawks?
- Feeder: Not suitable
- Table: Not suitable
- Ground: Not suitable
Sparrowhawks don't need feeding stations. They are hunters, not seed or insect feeders, and should never be encouraged with food intended for other wildlife.
How to attract Sparrowhawks to your garden?
You shouldn't try to attract Sparrowhawks deliberately.
If you feed garden birds regularly, however, you may eventually attract one naturally. Bird feeders concentrate prey such as finches, tits and sparrows, and Sparrowhawks have learned that gardens can provide excellent hunting opportunities.
A garden with trees, hedges and dense shrubs can be particularly attractive because it gives Sparrowhawks places from which to launch surprise attacks.
So if a Sparrowhawk appears, there is no need to see it as something you've accidentally done wrong. You've created a garden rich enough to support a food chain, and the Sparrowhawk is simply another part of it.
Sparrowhawks and Garden Birds
A Sparrowhawk making a kill beside your feeders can be an uncomfortable sight, particularly when you've spent time and money feeding the birds you love watching.
But predation is a natural part of garden wildlife. Sparrowhawks haven't come into your garden because you've done something wrong, and there is no need to panic when one appears.
In fact, the presence of a Sparrowhawk tells you something remarkable about your garden. It is supporting enough small birds to make it worth a predator's while.
If a Sparrowhawk visits frequently and you are concerned about the safety of the smaller birds, you can make sure feeders are positioned close enough to dense natural cover for small birds to escape into, while maintaining good hygiene and sensible spacing between feeding stations.
There may be moments when the garden suddenly falls silent as every small bird disappears. Then, just as quickly, the Sparrowhawk is gone and the Blue Tits and Sparrows gradually return.
That drama is part of a living garden.
A Remarkable Garden Predator
Sparrowhawks were once badly affected by organochlorine pesticides, which caused a severe population crash in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s. Their recovery following the reduction in these chemicals is one of the more encouraging stories in modern British bird conservation. Today they are widespread again, although the species is currently Amber-listed and the RSPB reports a decline since the mid-1990s.
For anyone who feeds garden birds, the Sparrowhawk provides a fascinating reminder that our gardens aren't simply collections of feeders and favourite species. They are miniature ecosystems, with predators and prey interacting every day.
And sometimes the most exciting wildlife moment is not the bird that lands on your feeder, but the bird that arrives looking for it.
Explore more in our A-Z Bird Identification Guide to discover other garden visitors and learn what to feed them.
