Besra (Accipiter virgatus)

Other Names (World)
Besra, Besra Sparrowhawk

Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Size
Male: 24 - 30 cm
Female: 29 - 36 cm
Wingspan: 46 - 56 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Temminck, 1822)

Habitat
Broadleaf evergreen montane forest and open woodland. From 300 - 2200 m, occasionally to 3,400 m.

Range (Guide)

Bangladesh, Bhutan (B), Cambodia, China (mainland) (B), India (B), Indonesia (B), Laos, Malaysia (B), Myanmar (B), Nepal (B), Pakistan (B), Philippines (B), Sri Lanka (B), Taiwan (China) (B), Thailand (B), Vietnam (B).

Vagrant to Singapore.

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 (2020) and decreasing.

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (24)...)

Besra (Accipiter virgatus) [XC477887]
by LIN Wen-Horn from Heping District, Taichung City, Taiwan (call)

Besra (Accipiter virgatus) [XC178284]
by Aseem Khadakkar from Badgund, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India (call)

Subspecies
Has been considered to include Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis), with which probably forms superspecies, perhaps also including Dwarf Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nanus).

The following 11 subspecies are recognised:

affinis Hodgson, 1836 - Northern India and Nepal east to central and southern China, and Indochina.
fuscipectus Mees, 1970 - Mountains of Taiwan.
besra Jerdon, 1839 - South-western India and Sri Lanka; probably also south-eastern India.
abdulalii Mees, 1980 - Andaman Is, and possibly Nicobar Is.
nisoides Blyth, 1847 - Burma and Thailand; possibly also Malay Peninsula.
confusus Hartert, 1910 - Luzon, Mindoro, Negros and Catanduanes (northern and eastern Philippines).
quagga Parkes, 1973 - Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Siquijor and Mindanao (south-eastern Philippines).
rufotibialis Sharpe, 1887 - Northern Borneo.
vanbemmeli Voous, 1950 - Sumatra.
virgatus (Temminck, 1822) - Java and Bali.
quinquefasciatus Mees, 1984 - Flores (Lesser Sundas).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Besra (Accipiter virgatus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Besra see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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