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PLATE 25: FISH EAGLE AND HAWKS
Pallas’s Fish Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus V
L: 80. W: 190–220. A large, often vocal eagle, usually found near wetlands. Adult has white tail
with broad black terminal band; bill dark grey (yellow in extralimital White-tailed Eagle H. albicilla).
Juvenile told from White-tailed Eagle by paler head with dark patch behind eye, uniform pale
brown underparts, broad pale band through underwing-coverts, contrasting with dark brown
leading coverts and distinct white patch or white streaks on primaries below; up to three years
old the paler head and underparts emphasise the dark eye-patch and, often, band around foreneck;
underwing like juvenile but centre of tail distinctly mottled white, forming pale band in some;
differs from young Golden Eagle by pale axillary patch and centre of underwing, paler underparts,
more parallel-edged wings held flattish when soaring and by longer neck. When perched, bare
tarsi and pale loral-patch separates Pallas’s from Aquila eagles. Habitat Wetlands and rivers; also
coasts. Note Vagrant Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE.Shikra Accipiter badius pm
L: 25–35. W: 50–65. Resembles rather small Eurasian Sparrowhawk in flight (blunt wing-tips) but
slightly shorter tail has rounded corners (square-cut in Eurasian Sparrowhawk). Male of larger
Iranian subspecies cenchroides is pale dove-grey above, white below with faint orange barring
(when close), narrow black wing-tips and obscure pale collar. Female pale brown above with
blackish subterminal tail-band, darker barring below and wing-tips barely showing black. Note dark
throat-stripe (absent in Eurasian Sparrowhawk), grey cheeks (rufous in Eurasian Sparrowhawk)
and absence of white supercilium. Smaller SW Arabian sphenurus male is darker blue-grey above
with contrasting black wing-tips and lacks pale neck-collar; female shows less black on wing-tips.
Juveniles (both subspecies) have dark longitudinal spots on underparts (largely barred in young
Eurasian Sparrowhawk), banded uppertail and hardly any black on wing-tips. Voice Unhurried ch-
wick, ch-wick recalls Tawny Owl; loud kik-kooi repeated at nest; in display a whistling piu-piu-piu.
Habitat Light woodland, parks. Note Passage hatched; rare passage migrant and winter visitor
Oman.Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus PM, WV
L: 29–40. W: 60–80. Female much larger than male, approaching male Northern Goshawk in size,
but wingbeats faster and lighter, body slimmer, less protruding head, wing-tips blunter and tail
thinner, longer and more square-cut. Adult ash-grey above (female), bluer slate-grey (male), barred
rufous or brown below; whitish supercilium in female (infrequent in male); pale underwing without
dark tip. Juvenile browner above with clear white supercilium; streaked or blotched throat and
upper breast, otherwise barred below. Quick wingbeats interspersed with short descending glides
(stronger, straighter glides in Northern Goshawk); display flight has slow harrier-like wingbeats,
also occasionally when hunting. Habitat Woodland; open country with trees. Note Passage and
winter hatched.Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis V
L: 48–60. W: 90–125. Female much larger than male, with wingspan of Steppe Buzzard.
Compared to female Eurasian Sparrowhawk male has deeper belly, slower, stronger, stiffer
wingbeats and longer, broader-based, but more pointed wings. Note shorter, broader-based tail,
usually with rounded tip (thinner tail more square-cut in Sparrowhawk) and more protruding head
and neck. Stronger, straighter glides than Sparrowhawk and often soars on upturned wings. Adult
dark grey above, darker head appears ‘hooded’ but supercilium white; underparts finely barred.
Juvenile dark brown above with pale mottling on ear-coverts; rusty-yellow underparts boldly
streaked darker; lacks ‘hooded’ appearance of adult. Female told from large falcons by more
rounded wings, bold tail-bands, and flight. Hunts like Eurasian Sparrowhawk but also runs down
prey on ground; display flight with soft harrier-like wingbeats in shallow waves. Treated warily by
crows. Habitat Woods, particularly coniferous, often near open country. Note Winter hatched, but
rare Kuwait, Saudi Arabia; vagrant Oman, UAE.