madagascar sparrowhawk Accipiter madagascariensis

Typical medium-sized sparrowhawk. Adults are gray on the back with fine gray barring below; females much larger. Immatures have a brown back and thick streaks below. Endemic to Madagascar, where it is a rare and elusive resident of all types of forest. Rarely sits in the open or soars. Can be very hard to separate from male Henst’s Goshawk and female or immature Frances’s Sparrowhawk. On Madagascar Sparrowhawk, look for an unbarred undertail coverts, fine throat streaks, and a bizarrely long central toe. Adults also separated from Frances’s Sparrowhawk by gray rather than reddish barring below.