Sharp-shinned Hawks are named for their sharply keeled, featherless lower legs.

Field marks: Slender, blue-jay-sized accipiter, with short, rounded wings, and a long, rudder-like, square-tipped tail. Juveniles are brown above and light underneath with dark streaking. Adults are grayish above and light with rufous barring underneath. A scaled-down version of the Cooper’s Hawk.

Flight behavior: Typically migrates alone.  Soars, but frequently flaps and glides while migrating.  Noticeable buoyant flight, especially in high winds

• Wingspan1'8"-2'2"
• Length9"-13"
• W-L ratio2.1:1
• Weight3-8 oz

• Belong to the family Accipitridae, a group of 224 species of hawks, eagles, vultures, harriers, and kites.
• Named for their sharply keeled, featherless lower legs.
• Are the smallest of North America’s three accipiters.
• Male Sharp-shinned Hawks are smaller than females. In fact, many female Sharp-shins are closer in size to male Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter Cooperii) than they are to male Sharp-shinned Hawks.
• Hunt by stealth, and almost always on the wing.
• Few Sharp-shinned Hawks live to be five or more years of age, in part because they are fairly common in urban areas where they often prey on birds at bird feeders.
• Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks often take a different route on migration than do adult Sharp-shinned Hawks.
• The wintering of these Hawks has expanded northward in eastern North America in the last 20 years.

The Sharp-shinned Hawk is the smallest of three North American accipiters, or “birdhawks.” The slender, blue jay-sized raptor inhabits forested areas throughout much of North, Central, and South America. The sharpshin derives its name from the presence of a sharp, laterally compressed keel on the leading edge of its long legs. Because they are secretive and tend to favor areas of dense vegetation during the breeding season, sharpshins are most easily observed during migration. During migration, sharpshins are one of the most common migrants at most coastal and inland watchsites. Another opportunity to view this generally secretive species is when it visits backyard bird feeders in search of prey. The sharpshin’s habit of feeding on songbirds has sometimes triggered disfavor for this species among the general public. In many states, the species lacked legal protection from persecution until well into the 20th Century. Like other members of the genus Accipiter, Sharp-shinned Hawks have short rounded wings, and long narrow tails. Sharpshins also have large eyes and long middle toes both of which aid in the capture of their highly mobile prey. Reverse sexual size dimorphism is greater in the Sharp-shinned Hawk -- males average only 57% of the mass of females—than in any other North American raptor.

Sharp-shinned Hawks exhibit different adult and juvenile plumage. Adults have blue-gray upperparts and white underparts with rufous barring. They also have whitish throats, an alternately dark- and light-gray banded tail, and orange or red eyes. The eyes of sharpshins darken from yellow (in first-year birds) to orange, and then to red in older adults. In comparison to adults, juvenile Hawks have brown upperparts, and cream-colored underparts that often are heavily streaked with reddish brown on the breast and belly. These Hawks are smaller versions of the crow-sized Cooper’s Hawk, and distinguishing between these two species often tests an observer’s identification skills. Telling male Cooper’s Hawks from female Sharp-shinned Hawks is especially challenging: female Sharp-shinned Hawks are closer in size to male Cooper’s Hawks than they are to male sharpshins. Several characteristics aid in identifying these two similar species. The Cooper’s Hawk has a rounded tail, whereas these Hawks have a squared-off tail. Sharp-shinned Hawks generally fly with their wrists thrust forward and their heads barely projecting beyond their wrists. This makes them look like they are “smaller headed” than Cooper’s Hawks. As a result some people say that the silhouette of these Hawks look like a “flying mallet” whereas the silhouette of a Cooper’s Hawk looks like a “flying cross.” Sharpshins are less robust than Cooper’s Hawks and are more buoyant in flight. Both species show the typical accipiter flight pattern, a series of 3 to 6 quick wing beats separated by brief periods of gliding. However, the wing-beats of the sharpie are crisper and more rapid than those of the Cooper’s Hawk.

Studying and censusing nesting Sharp-shinned Hawks is challenging. During the breeding season sharpshins are rarely seen above of the forest canopy. They seldom perch in conspicuous locations and do not usually soar over the forest. The Sharpshinned Hawk prefers to nest within small groves of dense evergreens that have clearings nearby. Nests are 50-65 cm across, and are built with thin twigs and lined with bark chips and greenery. They are often placed on a horizontal branch against the main trunk of the tree. Pairs typically return to the same nesting area year after year, but rarely use the same nest. Incubation of the four or five egg clutches takes 30-32 days, with the female doing all of the incubating. During incubation and for the first 10-14 days after hatching (when the female remains on the nest brooding the chicks), the male is responsible for bringing food to the nest. The female often shares in providing food to the nestlings after they no longer need to be brooded. The young leave the nest when they are 24-27 days old, with the smaller males developing more quickly and leaving earlier than the larger females. After they fledge, young sharpshins remain near the nest and close to each other for about a month. During this time the youngsters are fed by their parents less frequently and they begin to hunt on their own. Fortunately, the independence of young sharpshins coincides with the end of songbird fledging, and recently fledged young have many novice songbirds to prey upon.

Sharp-shinned Hawks hunt in two ways: motionlessly from inconspicuous perches, and at high speeds in rapid flapping flight. Sharpshins hunt by surprising their prey, and they often use both natural and manmade structures to conceal their approach. Although capable of moving at high speeds for short distances, sharpshins generally give up if they fail to catch their prey quickly. Birds, primarily songbirds, make up 90% of the sharpshin’s diet. Large insects, frogs, lizards, and small mammals makeup the remaining 10%. Areas around houses and other buildings serve as suitable hunting habitat, and sharpshins often take advantage of the birds and small mammals at birdfeeders. Sharp-shinned Hawks pluck their prey before dismembering and consuming it. “Plucking posts” include tree trunks, stumps, fence posts, and the upraised roots of fallen trees. Prey items are plucked on the ground more often in winter. Many times plucking posts are close to the nest.