Editing Sharp-shinned hawk (section)

==Behaviour==
===Diet===
[[File:Sharp-shinned hawk feeding with play button.jpg|thumb|link=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sharp-shinned_hawk_feeding_animated.gif#/media/File:Sharp-shinned_hawk_feeding_animated.gif|Click for video of feeding sharp-shinned hawk]]
These birds surprise and capture most of their prey from cover or while flying quickly through dense vegetation. They are adept at navigating dense thickets, although this hunting method is often hazardous to the hawk. The great majority of this hawk's prey are small birds, especially various [[songbird]]s such as [[Old World sparrow|sparrow]]s, [[New World warbler|wood-warblers]], [[finch]]es, [[wren]]s, [[nuthatch]]es, [[Tit (bird)|tits]], [[icterid]]s and [[thrush (bird)|thrushes]]. Birds caught range in size from a {{convert|4.4|g|oz|abbr=on}} [[Anna's hummingbird]] to a {{convert|577|g|lb|abbr=on}} [[ruffed grouse]] and virtually any bird within this size range is potential prey. Typically, males will target smaller birds, such as sparrows and wood-warblers, and females will pursue larger prey, such as [[American robin]]s and [[Colaptes|flickers]], leading to a lack of conflict between the sexes for prey. These hawks often exploit backyard bird feeders in order to target congregations of ideal prey. They often pluck the feathers off their prey on a post or other perch. Rarely, sharp-shinned hawks will also eat rodents, lizards, frogs, snakes, and large insects, the latter typically being dragonflies captured on the wing during the hawk's migration. [[Bat]]s have occasionally been recorded as a prey of this hawk.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mikula|first1=P.|last2=Morelli|first2=F.|last3=Lučan|first3=R. K.|last4=Jones|first4=D. N.|last5=Tryjanowski|first5=P.|year=2016|title=Bats as prey of diurnal birds: a global perspective|journal=Mammal Review|volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=160–174 |doi=10.1111/mam.12060}}</ref>

[[File:Female Sharp-shinned Hawk with prey (Starling).jpg|thumb|]]

===Reproduction===
[[File:Sharp-Shinned.jpg|thumb|Immature (nominate group)]]
Sharp-shinned hawks construct a stick nest in a large [[conifer]] or dense group of [[deciduous]] trees. Clutches of 3 to 8 eggs have been recorded, but 4 to 5 eggs is the typical clutch size. The eggs measure {{convert|37.6|x|30|mm|in|abbr=on}} and weigh about {{convert|19|g|oz|abbr=on}}. The eggs are prized by egg-collectors, because they are heavily marked with surprisingly colorful and varied markings. The incubation period is thought to average at about 30 days. After hatching, the young are brooded for 16 to 23 days by the female, while the male defends the territory and catches prey. The young fledge at the age of about a month and rely on their parents for feeding and protection another four weeks. The nesting sites and breeding behavior of sharp-shinned hawks are generally secretive, in order to avoid the predation of larger raptors, such as the [[American goshawk]] and the [[Cooper's hawk]]. While in migration, adults are sometimes preyed on by most of the bird-hunting, larger raptors, especially the [[peregrine falcon]]. The breeding behavior of the taxa ''chionogaster'' (white-breasted hawk), ''ventralis'' (plain-breasted hawk) and ''erythronemius'' (rufous-thighed hawk) are comparably poorly known, but based on the available knowledge they appear to differ little from that of the nominate group