Appearance:

Large and athletic falcon. Adults slate-grey above. Underparts white with black barring. Head almost black. Juveniles with brown tone to plumage, coarse longitudinal streaking below and paler head. Differs from the smaller falcons by less pointed wings, heavier hips and short tail. Highly contrasting and broad moustache-stripe. Smaller than Gyrfalcon with a more compact silhouette. The wings are not as broad, and belly not as deep. Underside of wings evenly barred, without contrasting coverts. Flight-pattern can recall Fulmar, with shallow, stiff wing-action.

Sound:

A harsh, drawn out "kiaaaa" with emphasised endings repeated in series. Much slower than Merlin, but higher pitched than Gyrfalcon. Also shorter, coarse warning-calls.

Alarm call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Jarek Matusiak,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Small raptor with long tail and short, rounded wings. Quite similar to Goshawk, and female Sparrowhawks may approach male Goshawks in size (female much larger than male in both species). Upperparts grey in male, and brownish in female and juvenile. Underparts barred in buff in male, and brown barring in female and juveniles. Supercilium may be prominent in females. Less bulky than Goshawk, with more slender hips and less deep chest. The sharper corners of the tail is visible when soaring.

Sound:

Series of short "ke-ke-ke-ke-ke", with rising pitch. Less resonant and less full than similar call of Goshawk, and much faster. Also a short "peeaaaa", shorter and more squeaky than Buzzard.

Alarm call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC