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.
