Red-thighed sparrowhawk

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Red-thighed sparrowhawk
Accipiter erythropus erythropus Keulemans.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Tachyspiza
Species:
T. erythropus
Binomial name
Tachyspiza erythropus
(Hartlaub, 1855)
Subspecies [2]
  • T. e. erythropus - (Hartlaub, 1855)
  • T. e. zenkeri - (Reichenow, 1894)
Synonyms [3]

Nisus erythropusHartlaub, 1855

The red-thighed sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza erythropus), alternatively known as the red-legged sparrowhawk or western little sparrowhawk, is a species of sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae from western and northern central Africa. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter .

Contents

Taxonomy

The red-thighed sparrowhawk was formally described in 1885 by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub based on a specimen collected in "Rio Bontry", now Butre on the coast of Ghana. He coined the binomial name "Nisus erythropus". [4] [5] The species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter . In 2024 a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae confirmed earlier work that had shown that the genus was polyphyletic. [6] [7] To resolve the non-monophyly, Accipiter was divided into five genera. The genus Tachyspiza was resurrected to accommodate the red-thighed sparrowhawk together with 26 other species that had previously been placed in Accipiter. The resurrected genus had been introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. [8] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ταχυς (takhus) meaning "fast" with σπιζιας (spizias) meaning "hawk". [9] The specific epithet erythropus combines Ancient Greek ερυθρος (eruthros) meaning "red" with πους (pous), ποδος (podos) meaning "foot". [10]

Two subspecies are recognised: [8]

Description

A very small, dove-sized sparrowhawk with a distinctive tail pattern. The red-thighed sparrowhawk is sexually dimorphic, the males of the nominate subspecies having very dark grey upperparts with a white crescent on the lower rump which is conspicuous in flight, as are three white broken tail bars on the dark grey tail. In contrast to the blackish cheeks the throat is white with the rest of the underparts pinkish white. The vermilion eye is surrounded by a red eye ring, the cere is orange red and the legs are bright orange yellow. Males of the subspecies A.e. zenkeri have deep rufous underparts and more obvious white spots on the tail. Females are much bigger than the males, with browner upperparts and a more brownish orange eye. Juveniles normally have the underparts barred with brown, sometimes up to the breast. The body length is 23–28 cm (9.1–11.0 in) and the wingspan is 40 cm (16 in). [11]

Distribution and habitat

The red-thighed sparrowhawk is found in lowland primary rainforest, along the forest edges and in clearings, as well as in older secondary forest. [12]

Behaviour

The red-thighed sparrowhawk is a secretive and crepuscular species that spends most of the day perched in the interior of the forest. [13] Its main prey is small birds up to the size of pigeons as well as lizards, amphibians, and insects. Prey is captured in quick dashes from a perch in the forest understory. This species often hunts co-operatively in pairs to harass mixed-species bird flocks. [14]

The breeding behaviour is little known but it does build a small stick nest in the fork of a tree, the only record being a family of five recorded in Liberia in December 1996. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Accipiter</i> Genus of birds

Accipiter is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With around 50 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although with the exception of the American goshawk almost all New World species are simply known as "hawks". They can be anatomically distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a procoracoid foramen. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large procoracoid foramen and are also distinct as regards DNA sequence. They may warrant separation in the old genus Hieraspiza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buteoninae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Buteoninae are a subfamily of birds of prey which consists of medium to large, broad-winged species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accipitrinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks, including all members of Accipiter and the closely related genera Erythrotriorchis, and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread genus Accipiter includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the sharp-shinned hawk and others. They are primarily woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch, with long tails, broad wings and high visual acuity facilitating this lifestyle. In light of recent genetic research, the kites of the traditional subfamily Milvinae may also belong to this group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shikra</span> Species of bird

The shikra is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usually been considered as subspecies of the shikra. The shikra is very similar in appearance, as well as behavior, at least to some degree, to other species including the Chinese sparrowhawk, Eurasian goshawk and Eurasian sparrowhawk. They have a sharp two note call and have the typical flap and glide flight. Their calls are imitated by drongos and the common hawk-cuckoo resembles it in plumage. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested goshawk</span> Species of bird

The crested goshawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is widely distributed in tropical Asia. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levant sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The Levant sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey. It measures 32–38 cm (13–15 in) in length with a wingspan of 65–75 cm (26–30 in). The female is larger than the male, but the difference is not as marked as with Eurasian sparrowhawk. The adult male is blue-grey above, with dark wingtips, and barred reddish below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances's sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

Frances's sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. The nominate subspecies, T. f. francesiae, is endemic to Madagascar, and the other subspecies are found in the Comoro Islands. The Anjouan sparrowhawk, also known as the Anjouan Island sparrowhawk, Ndzuwani goshawk or Joanna Island goshawk, was thought to be extinct until searches in the 1980s and in 2005 confirmed that it is still extant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The Chinese sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza soloensis) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The Japanese sparrowhawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. The bird is known by many alternative names such as the Japanese lesser, Asiatic, or Eastern sparrowhawk. This species is a small raptor with broader and rounder wings and a shorter tail. Its total length measures 23–30 centimetres (9.1–11.8 in). It has a dark back and whitish underside with brown-grey barring and red-brown colouring on the sides in males, and with heavier brown barring on the abdomen in females. Both sexes have a stripe across the throat, but its more obvious in the female. Is it typically identified by its appearance, but occasionally produces a chattering kiki-kik-kik... sound. This species generally breeds in parts of Russia, Korea, Japan, and China. There are three subspecies of Japanese sparrowhawk that differ by distribution and appearance. The species is globally listed as least concern, although it is listed as endangered in Japan and protected in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown goshawk</span> Species of bird

The brown goshawk is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia and surrounding islands. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey goshawk</span> Species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae

The grey goshawk is a strongly built, medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is found in eastern and northern Australia. The white morph of this species is known as the white goshawk. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicolored hawk</span> Species of bird

The bicolored hawk is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in forest, woodland, second growth, plantations, and wooded savanna in southeastern Mexico, Central America, and northern and central South America. Though generally uncommon, it is the most common species of Astur in most of its range, but it does not occur at altitudes above 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) such as the highest parts of the Andes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-mantled goshawk</span> Species of bird

The black-mantled goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in the highlands of New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The little sparrowhawk is a species of Afrotropical bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. It is the smallest member of the genus Tachyspiza and forms a superspecies with the red-thighed sparrowhawk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-breasted sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The rufous-breasted sparrowhawk, also known as the rufous-chested sparrowhawk and as the red-breasted sparrowhawk, is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpiinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Harpiinae is a bird of prey subfamily which consists of large broad-winged species native to tropical forests. There are 4 genera in the subfamily, all monotypic.

<i>Lophospiza</i> Genus of birds

Lophospiza is a genus of Asian birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. The two species placed in this genus were formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<i>Tachyspiza</i> Genus of birds

Tachyspiza is a genus containing goshawks and sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae. The species were formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<i>Astur</i> (genus) Genus of birds

Astur is a genus containing hawks, goshawks and sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae. The species were formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<i>Aerospiza</i> Genus of birds

Aerospiza is a genus containing goshawks and a sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae that are found in Africa. The three species in the genus were formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Accipiter erythropus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22695576A93516770. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695576A93516770.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
  3. ↑ "Red-thighed Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythropus (Hartlaub, 1855)". Avibase. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Hartlaub, Gustav (1855). "Beschreibung einiger neuen, von Herrn H. S. Pel, holländischem Residenten an der Goldküste, daselbst gesammelten Vögelarten". Journal für Ornithologie (in German). 3 (17): 353-361 [354].
  5. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 335.
  6. ↑ Catanach, T.A.; Halley, M.R.; Pirro, S. (2024). "Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus Accipiter (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society: blae028. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blae028.
  7. ↑ Mindell, D.; Fuchs, J.; Johnson, J. (2018). "Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes". In Sarasola, J.H.; Grange, J.M.; Negro, J.J. (eds.). Birds of Prey: Biology and conservation in the XXI century. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp. 3–32. ISBN   978-3-319-73744-7.
  8. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Jobling, James A. "Tachyspiza". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  10. ↑ Jobling, James A. "erythropus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Ferguson-Lees, James; Christie, David A. (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm. p. 381. ISBN   0-7136-8026-1.
  12. 1 2 "Red-thighed Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythropus". The Peregrine Fund . Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Profile Red-thighed Sparrowhawk". Raptors of the World. Avibirds. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Red-thighed Sparrowhawk (Accipiter erythropus)". Planet of Birds. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
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