Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

Fairly common resident of 48,000 pairs breeding in Britain, including 13,000 in Ireland.

Also common & widespread in  Europe.

Males are slate-grey upperparts (sometimes tending to bluish), with finely red-barred underparts, which can look plain orange from a distance; his irides are orange-yellow or orange-red.

Females are dark brown or greyish-brown upperparts, brown-barred underparts and bright yellow to orange irides.

Juveniles are warm brown above, with rusty fringes to the upperparts, and coarsely barred or spotted brown below, with pale yellow eyes; its throat has dark streaks and lacks a mesial (midline) stripe.

The flight has a flap flap glide creating an undulating pattern.

The call is a fimilar hawk ki-ki-ki.