Bird of Prey ID please

[daverob]

Hi
Absolutely new to this forum. I know next to nothing about Birds of Prey apart from a few evenings spent with a pair of "pest control" Harris Hawks that were clearing pigeons from rafters of the building I work in (absolutely stunning!).
We have a new neighbour that has visited our garden and taken two wood pigeons right from under our noses (one it casually hopped onto a bird table and just took it by the neck!). Managed to grab a shot of it (sorry about the quality). Thought it may have been a Buzzard but can't find an image that matches. Any help would be appreciated, thanks

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Daverob
It is a male Sparrowhawk.

[daverob]

Thanks for the quick reply. Knew I'd come to the right place!

[scout]

By the size of it i'd say it was a female Sparrowhawk

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by scout

By the size of it i'd say it was a female Sparrowhawk

Hi Scout
With that blue-grey colouration ,it has surely got to be a male?


Cheers Jason.

[solus]

Looks like a female to me - and if that's a Wood Pigeon its got then it surely has to be! Males are much smaller (and often but not always really bluey coloured) and would tend to take smaller birds.

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by solus

Looks like a female to me - and if that's a Wood Pigeon its got then it surely has to be! Males are much smaller (and often but not always really bluey coloured) and would tend to take smaller birds.

Fair point Solus, I lost the sense of Scale,a female it is.

[Harold Smith]

Definitely a female. The underside has grey barring whereas the male would have orange barring. I have had both male and female in my garden and both have taken wood pigeons. Very spectacular. The pigeons didn't stand a chance.

Harold.

[daverob]

Thanks to everyone for the information. As you can see from the photo, there wasn't much left of the wood pigeon but when she spotted me, she took off carrying the carcass quite effortlessly. My sons said the bird was a similar height to the pigeon it took off the feeding table. I hope she stays around (certainly keeps pigeon droppings off my decking!)

[HanDiiMaNz]

Originally Posted by daverob

Hi
Absolutely new to this forum. I know next to nothing about Birds of Prey apart from a few evenings spent with a pair of "pest control" Harris Hawks that were clearing pigeons from rafters of the building I work in (absolutely stunning!).
We have a new neighbour that has visited our garden and taken two wood pigeons right from under our noses (one it casually hopped onto a bird table and just took it by the neck!). Managed to grab a shot of it (sorry about the quality). Thought it may have been a Buzzard but can't find an image that matches. Any help would be appreciated, thanks

That's a female Sparrowhawk friend.