African little sparrowhawk

Accipiter minullus

SUBFAMILY

Accipitrinae

TAXONOMY

Falco minullus Daudin, 1800, Gamtoos River, South Africa. Monotypic.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Little sparrowhawk; French: Épervier minule; German: Zwergsperber; Spanish: Gavalancito Chico.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

9.1–10.6 in (23–27 cm); male 2.6–3 oz (74–85 g); female 2.4–3.7 oz (68–105 g). Small gray hawk with lightly barred underparts.

DISTRIBUTION

Africa: southern Sudan and Ethiopia, south to South Africa, and west to Angola and Namibia.

HABITAT

Woodland and forest patches, often along rivers or in valleys. Occasionally, small plantations of exotics in savanna.

BEHAVIOR

Apparently sedentary.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

A tiny but bold hunter. Typically, flies at speed from perch, winding agilely through foliage, to catch prey on wing. Specializes on small birds from 0.4–1.4 oz (10–40 g). Occasionally takes small bats, lizards, and insects.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Breeds as solitary pair in March–April in northeast Africa, mostly October–November in southern Africa. Monogamous. Builds a small stick nest of twigs lined with green leaves, high in a tree fork. Usually two eggs; incubation 31 days; fledging about 26 days.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Widespread and common in appropriate habitat and quickly colonizes new habitat such as plantation.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.