Sharp-shinned Hawk
(Accipiter striatus)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Sharp-shinned Hawk breeds from Atlantic Canada to the west coast and from southern Ontario to the northern Yukon Territory. Although widespread, it is secretive and difficult to survey. Still, the Breeding Bird Survey indicates that populations have experienced a large increase since about 1970. The species preys on songbirds and is therefore susceptible to changes in their abundance. Sharp-shinned Hawks were assessed as Not at Risk in 1997 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
IUCN (Global)Least Concern2012 
Wild Species (Canada)Secure2010 
Bird Conservation Region StrategyPriority Species2013 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaLarge IncreaseMedium
 

Population estimate

Canada50,000 to 500,000 adults
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Short-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaModerate

Conservation and management

Sharp-shinned Hawks were heavily persecuted in the early 20th century (Farmer et al. 2008 and suffered reproductive failure and population declines between the 1940s and 1970s due to widespread use of DDT (Snyder et al. 1973. They rebounded quickly during the 1970s and 1980s after its use was regulated (Bednarz et al. 1990). Abundance of Sharp-shinned Hawks in some regions may now exceed population levels from the pre-DDT era of the 1930s (Bednarz et al. 1990). Because the species preys on neotropical migrant songbirds, it may be indirectly susceptible to factors that influence their population status, such as loss of tropical forests (Viverette et al. 1996). However, population increases in recent years indicate that its current status in Canada is secure.

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Prince Edward Island
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Newfoundland and Labrador
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Ontario Region
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Quebec Region
 

References

  • Bednarz, J.C., D. Klem, Jr., L.J. Goodrich and S.E. Senner. 1990. Migration counts of raptors at Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania, as indicators of population trends, 1934-1986. Auk 107:96-109.
  • Bildstein, K.L. and K. Meyer. 2000. Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bildstein, K.L. and K. Meyer. 2000. Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
  • Farmer, C.J., L.J. Goodrich, E. Ruelas and J. Smith. 2008. Conservation status of North American raptors. pp. 303-420 in: State of North America's Birds of Prey. Bildstein, K. L., J. P. Smith, E. Ruelas Inzunza, and R. Veit, Eds. Nuttall Ornithological Club and American Ornithologists' Union, Series in Ornithology, No. 3, Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC.
  • Snyder, N.F.R., H.A. Snyder, J. Lincer and R.T. Reynolds. 1973. Organochlorines, heavy metals and the biology of North American accipiters. Bioscience 23:300-305.
  • Viverette, C.B., S. Struve, L.J. Goodrich and K.L. Bildstein. 1996. Decreases in migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks at traditional raptor-migration watchsites in eastern North America. Auk 113:32-40.