Frances's Sparrowhawk Accipiter francesiae

Frances's Sparrowhawk Accipiter francesiae

Berenty Reserve, Madagascar
November 2016

France's Sparrowhawk is distributed in Madagascar and the Comoros. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in all types of forest as well as plantations and gardens from sea level up to about 1,600 metres. This bird was on the edge of a patch of Didieridea spiny forest.

As will as being the smallest Accipiter hawk in Madagascar it is also the most common .

It is named after Lady Frances Cole, the wife of the Governor of Cape Colony at the time in 1834 and a well-known "Patroness of Science".

It is very similar to the Madagascar Sparrowhawk A. madagascariensis but one of the best distinguishing features is the barring on the undertail coverts which are absent from the Madagascar Sparrowhawk.

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