Ronaldo

Saw this accipiter near Luk Keng this afternoon. very active, circling at quite low altitude but at a fast pace.

Hesitating between Besra and Japanese Sparrowhawk, considering small size. tending towards Japanese S. as tail seems short.

Could you please help confirm id?

Thanks

pitarhk

Quote:

Original posted by Ronaldo at 6/02/2011 23:25
Saw this accipiter near Luk Keng this afternoon. very active, circling at quite low altitude but at a fast pace.

Hesitating between Besra and Japanese Sparrowhawk, considering small size. tending tow ...

I think this is Besra.

Tony

why not a Crested Goshawk?

brendank

Shape doesn't look right for Crested Goshawk--as it only has five "fingers" rather than the expected six for Crested.  I wouldn't want to say whether it is Besra or Japanese Sparrowhawk from these photos.  I believe this bird is an adult and the presence of a dark mesial stripe would make it a Besra. Unfortunately it is too dark to see that feature in this photo.  I would suggest lightening the photo to see whether a mesial stripe was present.

lpaul

The barring on the underside of the primaries and secondaries is too broad for Japanese and fits Besra.

Ronaldo

Unfortunately, my camera was in my bag at the time the bird was spotted, so hard to focus on settings at the same time as looking at the bird. It is definitely not a goshawk and size would not match other sparrowhawks. I already saw a besra two years ago in nearby area (<1km away). Unfortunately, could not check at home for the mesial stripe barring. Here is a full lightened picture via photoshop. Hope it helps...

Thanks a lot,