Cooperative Living September 2014 - 27

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
icture a backyard in late summer or
early fall with abundant small trees
and shrubs. Songbirds are going
about the business of foraging, bathing,
and preening. The songs of various
species ―finches, doves, cardinals,
robins, etc. - still fill the air, even though
the breeding season has come to a close.
Suddenly, warning calls from each can
P
be heard. Some birds are scattering
desperately for safety. Then a streak of
feathered fury ―a sharp-shinned hawk -
dives into a shrub, seemingly unconcerned
for its own safety, crashing through leaves
and branches in an attempt to catch a dove.
Sometimes it is successful, sometimes it
isn't. Often it may leave its own feathers
behind as it flies off to hunt elsewhere.
As recently as the late 1960s, this bird
had a bounty of 50 cents apiece on its
head in Virginia. Hawks were considered
destructive, especially because they killed
what were considered game species. This
small hawk is an accipiter, related to its
larger cousins, the Cooper's hawk and the
northern goshawk, together once known
as the terrible three, because of their
hunting prowess. Of course, they are only
doing what comes naturally. All three are
primarily bird hunters, although they will
also prey on small mammals and large
insects. The sharp-shinned generally
preys on other birds without affecting the
populations of those birds.
The sharp-shinned female is the size
of a pigeon, about 12-14 inches, but can
be as long as 17 inches, while the male is
10-12 inches, often just slightly larger
than a robin. A large, female sharpshinned
may be as large as a small male
Cooper's hawk, so size alone cannot be
relied upon for identification. In flight the
sharp-shinned's wings are positioned a bit
farther forward than a Cooper's hawk and
its wing beats are quicker. Also, its tail is
more squared and often appears notched
when folded, displaying a wider white
band on the end. The sharp-shinned's
head is smaller in proportion to its body,
and its head markings are not as dark as
the Cooper's.
September 2014/www.co-opliving.com
Adult sharp-shinneds have bluishgray
upperparts fading to near black
on the head, and cream-colored
underparts with fine burnt-orange
barring. Immature birds are brownish
above and show heavy streaking on
their underparts. Some other names
for this bird are bullet hawk, little blue
darter, and " sharpie. " Its old scientific
name, Striatus velox, means " striped "
and " swift. " It is now listed as Accipiter
striatus.
As recently as
the late 1960s,
this bird had
a bounty of
50 cents apiece
on its head
in Virginia.
These hawks have the typical
accipiter traits; short, rounded wings
and long tails, which give them
tremendous maneuverability when
chasing prey through and under dense
trees and shrubs. They fly with short,
strong, rapid wing beats interrupted
by short glides. Like other hawks they
have highly developed eyesight. They
have higher concentrations of visual
cells and nerve fibers, giving them
great accuracy in distance perception.
The call of the sharp-shinned is rapid
and shrill, described as " kik-kik-kikkik, "
and it utters a squealing or
whining call.
Its relatively long, slender toes have
rough, bumpy undersides for grasping,
and its feet and talons do the catching. Its
hooked beak is used for killing. The bird
avoids eating feathers or fur, which are
indigestible, and it is very meticulous
about plucking or skinning its prey. While
it prefers hunting the woodlands and
woodland margins, it is not unusual for
the sharp-shinned to hunt scattered,
wooded and brushy areas of suburbia. I
have had both sharp-shinned and Cooper's
hawks make feeding forays through my
yard in Mechanicsville, often crashing
through the cedars, viburnums, holly, and
mock orange after finches, juncos, whitethroated
sparrows, or other small birds. In
winter, these small hawks are drawn to the
coastal stands of bayberry and wax myrtle,
taking advantage of the yellow-rumped
warblers that winter there too. While they
hunt on the wing, they may sit on a high
perch to watch and sometimes they'll fly
into and up under a small tree to sit
quietly and wait for an opportunity to
strike unwary prey.
Sharp-shinned hawks nest mainly in
woodlands, almost always in conifers such
as pine, cypress, or cedar on the coasts, or
hemlock, spruce, or balsam in the
mountains, or in a tree hollow or rock
crevice. The nest is a large, flat, or shallow
bowl of twigs, leaves, and bark, usually
about 20-50 feet up. They lay four or five
dull bluish or greenish-white eggs, marked
with brown. Incubation takes 21-24 days,
and, once hatched, the young remain in
and around the nest for about four weeks.
Sharp-shinneds breed mainly in Canada,
and have become scarcer in their traditional
breeding areas of the United States.
They migrate during daylight hours as
they follow north-south mountain ridges
of the Appalachians, riding updrafts, or
along Atlantic coastlines where they ride
winds and ocean thermals southward.
Mid-September into October is a good
time to see these migrations. Sharpshinned
hawks winter over much of the
United States, and as far south as
Guatemala in Central America. 
25
Cooperative Living September 2014

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