Sparrowhawk attack captured in amazing photograph (UK)

[Donna]

THIS amazing picture of a sparrowhawk attacking a helpless pigeon was taken by a reader in the back garden of their home.
Ros Hurn, 65, took this picture on her digital camera after noticing the spectacular scene taking place outside her window of her home in Gerrards Cross.



She said: "It's a bit grim, but I made a very interesting picture, and I'm very pleased with it.
"I've seen a sparrowhawk in my garden before trying to catch a woodpecker, but this time I managed to get a picture of it."
Sparrowhawks are known to prey on other birds, and commonly attack smaller animals.

Sad 

[Donna]

The sparrowhawk we know is the American kestral......that hawk looks huge!!

Our kestral would be a third the size of what appears there to be a Wood Pigeon.

What hawks do they call ''sparrowhawks''?

I believe there are many species of Sparrowhawks, including the Kestrel.

Sparrowhawk (sometimes Sparrow Hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus Accipiter. These include:

    * Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk, A. castanilius
    * Collared Sparrowhawk, A. cirrocephalus
    * Eurasian Sparrowhawk, A. nisus
    * Imitator Sparrowhawk, A. imitator
    * Japanese Sparrowhawk, A. gularis
    * Levant Sparrowhawk, A. brevipes
    * Little Sparrowhawk, A. minullus
    * Madagascar Sparrowhawk, A. madagascariensis
    * New Britain Sparrowhawk, A. brachyurus
    * Nicobar Sparrowhawk, A. butleri
    * Ovampo Sparrowhawk, A. ovampensis
    * Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, A. erythropus
    * Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk, A. rufiventris
    * Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk, A. erythrauchen
    * Shikra, A. badius, also known as 'Indian Sparrowhawk'
    * Slaty-mantled Sparrowhawk, A. luteoschistaceus
    * Small Sparrowhawk, A. nanus
    * Vinous-breasted Sparrowhawk, A. rhodogaster
    * Frances's Sparrowhawk, Accipiter francesii, also known as Frances' Goshawk
          o Anjouan Island Sparrowhawk, or Ndzuwani Goshawk Accipiter francesii pusillus, an extremely rare, possibly extinct, subspecies of Frances's Sparrowhawk
    * American Kestrel, Falco sparverius, often incorrectly called a 'Sparrowhawk' or 'Sparrow Hawk'
    * Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides, may be called a 'Sparrowhawk' on Norfolk Island

FROM WIKI

[Patti from Kentucky]

Sparrowhawk (sometimes Sparrow Hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus Accipiter.

The genus Accipiter in the U.S. includes the Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Northern Goshawk, so most of these hawks in that genus (the ones whose latin names start with A.) are related to those guys, which of course we know to prey on birds.

Patti