The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) is Sweden's commonest small-bird-hunting raptor and a regular visitor to garden feeders — not to eat seed, but to hunt the small birds the feeder attracts. It measures 28–38 cm with a wingspan of 58–74 cm and weighs 110–340 grams, with an unusually large size difference between the sexes — the female can weigh almost three times as much as the male, the biggest such difference among Swedish raptors. The male is slate-grey above with fine rusty barring below and a yellow eye, while the female is greyish-brown above and white with greyish-brown barring below; short, rounded wings and a long tail suit it to fast pursuit through trees and bushes.
Mostly silent, the Sparrowhawk gives a fast, shrill, repeated "kek-kek-kek-kek" near the nest during the breeding season. Found throughout Sweden with a population of 10,000–15,000 pairs, it lives in woodland bordering open country but is also common in suburban gardens and parks; some birds are resident year-round while others, mainly from the north, migrate south to the continent in autumn. It builds a fresh stick nest each year, usually in a spruce 8–15 metres up, where the female lays 4–6 eggs and incubates for about 33 days while the male hunts and provisions her, with young fledging after just under a month. About 95% of its diet is small birds — Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, House Sparrow and Starling are common prey — caught in low, fast flight along woodland edges and hedgerows or in a sudden strike from a hidden perch. Once hit hard by DDT, the species has recovered strongly and is classed as of least concern (LC) in Sweden.
Read about this species in Swedish →