Striped hawk

The striped hawk is the smallest hawk in North America . The head is a little rounded. The tail is short and maneuverable. Beak is small, hooked. Wings are short, rounded, dark from below. The claws are large, sharp. The main color of the striped hawk is dark gray, the crown is black; chest, belly and underwings light, with transverse dark red stripes. The beak is dark. The eyes are burgundy. The bottom of the tail is white. Paws are yellow. On the tail there are 3-5 transverse stripes, on the tail there are transverse white stripes. Fly wings at the base are blue-gray. Young hawks have a brown color (crown, nape, upper torso), eyes are yellow, gradually changing to orange. The tail is brown with black stripes. Females are larger in size than males, males 24-27 cm long, females 29-34 cm. Wingspan 53-65 cm. Males weigh 87-114 gr., Females weigh 150–218 gr. ^[one]

The range of the striped hawk from Mexico to South America (from Venezuela to northern Argentina).

Active during the day. In the cold season (late October - mid October), most hawks living in North America migrate south (with a range of up to 1,500 km). Out of season breeding leads a solitary lifestyle. During migrations, the striped hawks stray into small flocks. In early April - mid-May returns to the north.

In summer, the striped hawk huddles in pine, spruce and aspen forests. Avoid open spaces. In winter, it can often be found in agricultural areas and suburbs of small cities.

Birds make up 90% of the total diet ( passerines , falcons , chicken , plovers , pigeons , woodpeckers ), small mammals (including bats ), vertebrates, insects ( grasshoppers , dragonflies , beetles , large butterflies), rarely frogs and lizards . Tracks prey from the air, from an ambush or steal chicks directly from nests. The striped hawk is very fast and flies easily in a dense forest. Before eating, prey birds are plucked.

Presumably monogamous. In a year, a pair of striped hawks leads one brood. For breeding prefers evergreen forests. Nests are built on coniferous or deciduous trees, at an altitude of 3-18 m above the ground near the spawning grounds of fish. The nest is laid out in small twigs, stripes of bark and needles. Old nests have been restored and used for many years, but each year a couple uses a new nest. For nests, trees are selected that grow along the sides of roads, paths or near mountain slopes. Only the female incubates eggs, the male helps in the construction of the nest. During hatching, the male feeds the female and the chicks. If the first nest was destroyed, the birds will build a new one. The female actively guards the nest and chicks from predators.

The breeding season is March-June. Puberty begins from 2 years. Females hatch eggs from 21 to 35 days. The female lays 4-5 white or bluish eggs with dark specks. Egg weight about 10 gr. Chicks are covered in down. Males fledge faster than females. At the age of 25-28 days, young hawks become free from their parents, but their parents feed them for the next 2-3 weeks.