It is about the size of a chicken with blue/grey coloured feathers and an orange belly and legs.
There is a white ring on the back of its neck and a white fleck on its tail.
It has a black beak and yellow feet and very small eyes.
It caught and killed a sparrow, plucked it and moved it elsewhere to eat it, and is now cleaning itself.
Can you help with finding what type it is?
2006-12-15 21:14:22 · 12 answers · asked by BrilliantPomegranate 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
It also killed and ate a dove last week
2006-12-15 21:23:56 · update #1
Sparrow hawk!!!! RSPB birds of the british isles, £3. from Index-books.com. Clear pictures and descriptions help identify most birds you see.
2006-12-15 21:26:17 · answer #1 · answered by susan729315 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A sparrow hawk is the common name in the US for a kestrel, which is actually the size of a blue jay. It eats mice, small birds, and insects. It is designed with long, narrow tapered wings and is very adept in the air, being one of the only birds that can actually hover. However, it has a rust-colored back, not belly.
When you say, "chicken-size", I have a hard time picturing exactly how big this bird is, because chickens come in all sizes. A kestrel would be about the size of a bantam, but much smaller than some of the larger breeds.
A sharp-shinned hawk and Cooper's hawk both fit the description better than the kestrel. They have white bands on the tail. The sharp-shinned is slightly smaller, about the size of a blue jay, and the Cooper's hawk is slightly larger, about the size of a crow. Both are accipiters, designed for catching and eating birds. They are both slate colored above, with reddsih barring below. They also both have light colored feathers around their heads.
See below for a picture of a Cooper's hawk. the sharp-shinned looks almost exactly the same, but is a little smaller. They are both distributed across the continental US. The Cooper's hawk is becoming a little more rare. If this doesn't look like what you saw, look up "merlin" falcon and see if that is it.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fsearch%3Dcooper%2527s%2Bhawk%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dks-ans%26ico-yahoo-search-value%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Frds.yahoo.com%252F_ylt%253DAsMNrIOGacY3XQKvfKDjciMazKIX%252FSIG%253D111gjvvgj%252F%252A-http%253A%252F%252Fsearch.yahoo.com%252Fsearch%26ico-wikipedia-search-value%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Frds.yahoo.com%252F_ylt%253DAswQWhhZA1y0MbswpNQ74uIazKIX%252FSIG%253D11ia1qo58%252F%252A%252Ahttp%25253a%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FSpecial%25253aSearch%26p%3Dcooper%27s%2520hawk%26fr2%3Dtab-web&w=600&h=547&imgurl=personal.cfw.com%2F%7Ebtkin%2Frockfish_gap_hawk_watch%2Fimages%2FCooper%27s%2520Hawk%2FCooper%27sHawk-8617.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpersonal.cfw.com%2F%7Ebtkin%2Frockfish_gap_hawk_watch%2Flink_pages%2FCooper%27sHawk_link.htm&size=211.5kB&name=Cooper%27sHawk-8617.jpg&p=cooper%27s+hawk&type=jpeg&no=11&tt=3,279&oid=6e846d8e6e5ea8a2&ei=UTF-8
2006-12-16 00:56:56 · answer #2 · answered by Hauntedfox 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be a Goshawk or a Falcon or any of the raptors that feed on birds. If you are lucky, it could be a Peregrine. I would suggest that you watch the bird, get yourself a good book that describes the birds that live in your area and contact the local birdwatchers in your area.
Otherwise, just enjoy watching the birds activities, record them and, if you are interested in furthering your interest, pass the notes on. You cannot go wrong watching a bird, or any animal, and passing on information.
2006-12-15 23:43:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that it is a sparrow hawk because I had the same prblem in my garden. Every morning when i go to see my rabbit i find a Dead animal until i got really angry and trapped it!( for that i had to stay up all the night and wait!)
2006-12-15 22:30:41 · answer #4 · answered by bibool b 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This sounds like a sparrowhawk. A search on google will locate a picture for you.
2006-12-15 21:22:06 · answer #5 · answered by mad 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you are in the states its a Cooper's Hawk.
2006-12-16 00:01:46 · answer #6 · answered by sngcanary 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a penguin to me!
2006-12-15 21:22:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Where abouts are you? It would be easier if you could take a picture of it.
2006-12-15 21:23:45 · answer #8 · answered by nativeparadise 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sparrow hawk
2006-12-15 21:22:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's probably a sparow hawk
2006-12-15 21:22:23 · answer #10 · answered by Andrew L 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋