Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus) [XC209315]
by Ding Li Yong from Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia (call)
Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus) [XC859616]
by Peter Boesman from Waterfall Creek State Reserve, Bruny, Tasmania, Australia (call)
Nest
A platform composed of thin twigs, either dead or green, lined with leaves, placed on a thin forked limb of a tall tree. Occasionally the deserted nest of a Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) or a raven is used.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4, usually 3; smooth, usually lustreless cream to blue-white tinged, at times sparsely speckled or smeared with light red-brown; oval to rounded-oval; about 39 x 31 mm. Incubation: about 21 days; apparently by female only.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 28 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with New Britain Sparrowhawk (Accipiter brachyurus), Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk (Accipiter erythrauchen) and perhaps Vinous-breasted Sparrowhawk (Accipiter rhodogaster). Birds of northern Australia sometimes recognized as subspecies quaesitandus, but doubtfully valid. Emendation of original spelling to cirrhocephalus is not justified.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1817) - Tasmania and south-eastern Australia.
rosselianus Mayr, 1940 - Rossel Island, Lousiade Archaepeligo. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus).
papuanus (Rothschild & Hartert, 1913) - New Guinea and nearby islands.
Similar Species
Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus)
Larger. Similar in plumage, but has longer, thicker legs and the tail is rounded rather than square or slightly notched when folded.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet