It usually hunts from a perch with a swift dash after quarry (Kemp 1994). It hunts from a perch, taking small reptiles on the ground and small birds and insects in flight (Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC)
Endemic to Madagascar and most of the Comoro Islands (a distinct subspecies per island)
Madagascar and the Comoros Islands
The nominate subspecies lives on Madagascar, while three of the Comoro Islands have distinct subspecies (Louette et al. 2011).
More details about the distributions of the four subspecies are available at: ibc.lynxeds.com.
Perhaps forms superspecies with A. badius, A. brevipes, A. butleri and A. soloensis (Kemp 1994).
DNA sequence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene shows that they are characterized by closely related but distinct mitochondrial haplotypes. Furthermore, the phylogeographic pattern indicates that these islands were colonized in the same historical timeframe (Louette et al. 2011).
All types of primary and secondary forest up to 2000 m, including commercial plantations and suburban gardens (Kemp 1994).
It occurs mostly at forest edges, rather than in the forest interior (Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
The Comoran endemics show important differences between islands in habitat preference (Louette et al. 2011).
Male: Extent of rufous barring on underparts varies between individual males (Kemp 1994).
Female: larger and browner than male, with broader and much more profuse barring below (Kemp 1994).
Juvenile resembles adult female (Kemp 1994).
The four geographically distinct subspecies or races differ markedly in size, colour intensity and extent of barring on underparts (Kemp 1994).
The derived Comoro Islands taxa are remarkably different from the Madagascar stock in the disappearance of adult sexual dimorphism and by the ‘reversion’ to an ancestral juvenal pattern (Louette 2000). Whereas on Madagascar a sexual difference in color pattern occurs, plumage differences are small in the Comoros populations, with masculine females (on Grand Comoro and Anjouan) and feminine males (on Mayotte), and there is also a juvenal plumage on Mayotte which does not exist in any other population (Louette et al. 2011).
Most likely sedentary due to the distinct races on separate islands of the Comoro Islands (Kemp 1994).
Non-migratory, but juveniles disperse from breeding areas (Bildstein 2006 in Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
Unevenly distributed on Mayotte and post-breeding dispersal may take place from the wettest zone, where the highest breeding densities occur, to the drier southeastern parts (Herremans et al. 2001).
Common and widespread throughout Madagascar (except for the arid south), but not as common on the Comoros (Benson 1960 in Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
The Comoran endemics show important differences between islands in density (Louette et al. 2011).
It breeds from October to December, in the late dry/early wet season, resulting in young leaving the nest before or when the heavy rains start in January/February (Herremans et al. 2001).
Clutch size is 3-4 white eggs (Langrand 1990 in Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
It builds a large stick nest placed in the upper fork of a large tree, not always within the forest (Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
c. 28-35 cm
Increasing (Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats (BirdLife International 2011).
It feeds on a wide range of prey, mainly large insects and small vertebrates (Kemp 1994), including small mammals, birds, lizards and frogs (Global Raptor Information Network 2011).
Frances's sparrowhawk (Accipiter francesiae) is a small bird of prey. The nominate subspecies, A. f. francesiae, is endemic to Madagascar, and the other subspecies are found in the Comoro Islands.
The name commemorates Lady Frances Cole (died 1847), wife of the Cape Colony governor Lowry Cole.[4]
The Frances's sparrowhawk is found in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. They live in dense forests, large gardens, parks and coconut plantations. They live mostly on the edges of forests.
It is grey with a light belly. It has orange eyes and feet, a yellow cere and a black beak. The size of each hawk varies from 28 – 35 cm for a male and 104 – 140 g for a female 112 – 185 g and their wingspan is around 40 – 54 cm. The races from the Comoro Islands are smaller and more rufous than the nominate from Madagascar.
The hawks feed on a range of prey including mammals, birds, lizards, frogs, and large insects. They knock small mammals, lizards and frog off trees or trunks of trees to shock them and then make the kill. They generally attack flying insects and birds flying straight towards the prey and catching them in mid-flight.
The sparrowhawks build large stick nests in the upper fork of large trees usually 5 - 15m from the ground. The location of the nests change from year to year and they usually breed in October to December the clutch varies from 3 - 4 eggs they measure around 37 x 29 mm but the average survival rate of the eggs is 1.5. Eggs usually have different and unique marking on them. The eggs are usually a greyish-white.
The Frances's sparrowhawk has no real predators. At one point during the 1900s to 1980s due to the prevalence of a chemical poison the species saw a large population decline . After these chemicals were banned, the hawks' numbers slowly increased and now it is estimated that more than 32,000 breeding pairs that live throughout Madagascar. Traditional hunting still occurs.
Frances's sparrowhawk (Accipiter francesiae) is a small bird of prey. The nominate subspecies, A. f. francesiae, is endemic to Madagascar, and the other subspecies are found in the Comoro Islands.
The name commemorates Lady Frances Cole (died 1847), wife of the Cape Colony governor Lowry Cole.
