Talk:Eurasian sparrowhawk

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Have the male/female pictures been reversed 82.31.163.181 (talk) 10:31, 31 October 2014 (UTC)
 * "If a clutch is lost", please elaborate. Snowman (talk) 12:44, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * "and weighs 22.5 g of which 8% is shell"; I have moved a comer to more clearly indicate that in means 8% by weight, which I presume it meant. Snowman (talk) 13:59, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Leucocytozoon toddi; does it cause any ill effects on the hawks? Snowman (talk) 14:02, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The abstract doesn't say; it refers to a "spring relapse" but also says "there was no evidence of reduced longevity in infected birds once they had dispersed from their natal nest site". From that I don't think it's clear enough to say either way. Bogbumper (talk) 20:47, 26 November 2009 (UTC)


 * "In the UK, the failure rate at the egg stage had decreased from 17 % to 6 % by the year 2000"; does this indicate that the maximum egg failure rate was 17%? If it is, then to me this does not seem high enough to cause a population crash. Snowman (talk)
 * The list of subspecies in the infobox is in a different sequence to the list in the Taxonomy section. What is the correct sequence? Snowman (talk) 10:35, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * What do we normally refer to for this? Bogbumper (talk) 10:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)


 * "fledge after between 27 and 31"; this could mean when then get their feathers or when they leave the nest. Snowman (talk) 10:50, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Or it could mean taking a first flight... I'll see if I can clarify. Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)


 * "22.5 g of which 8% is shell." As the article mentions pathological egg shell thickness, can I assume that 8% of the egg is shell in a healthy egg? Snowman (talk) 10:56, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Presumably. It's from here. Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Any suggestions for an image to place in the pollutants section? Snowman (talk) 12:33, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I've moved the flight photo there as it was getting a bit crowded higher up, until something more pertinent to the section can be found. Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)


 * ...But the new image of a racing pigeon is terrible. Snowman (talk) 23:52, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * OK, fair point! I've found a new one. Bogbumper (talk) 10:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The new pigeon image is better. Ideally the bird should face into the page. Snowman (talk) 12:20, 28 November 2009 (UTC)
 * They will ask for alt text to be added for the images at GA review. Snowman (talk) 12:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)


 * I think the caption for the infobox image should mention if it is a male of a female and where it was photographed. Snowman (talk) 12:20, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Done (though we don't know where it was taken for sure - probably the Netherlands). Bogbumper (talk) 10:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Is is possible to identify any of the images to subspecies level for any of the captions? Snowman (talk) 12:20, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * We'd be making assumptions based on where the photos were taken, I'd guess. Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Fair enough, so should the captions for the photographs indicate where the photographs were taken? Snowman (talk) 23:49, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I've just added that where it's known. Bogbumper (talk) 10:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)


 * "mesial stripe"; to me this is incomprehensible jargon. Snowman (talk) 12:25, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I didn't know what one was (I didn't add that bit); it's labelled on this diagram though not defined in any articles. Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * So it is in the mid-line. Is it a typo for "medial", which is well known anatomical jargon for mid-line? Snowman (talk) 23:47, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * It seems not. Bogbumper (talk) 10:53, 28 November 2009 (UTC)
 * OK. Snowman (talk) 12:17, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

Images
I was once told that it's bad form to specify a width for thumbnail images, because that overrides settings that some users have. Is that correct? Guidance appreciated. Thanks. Bogbumper (talk) 22:53, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * In general yes, it's common for taxoboxes and maps, usually 250px, but best avoided otherwise unless there is a real point to it. I set my preference to 180, but it's personal choice really. Incidentally, you don't actually need "right" in image links, since that's the default, but it doesn't matter  Jimfbleak -  talk to me?  07:16, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The max default is 300px, so if the image width is set to 300px, then no one will see an image less than their settings. I probably would have have increased the size of an image in the text a few months ago, but I gather that the rules on image size are more relaxed now. Anyone can change the size of the image of the chicks in the nest back to the default size. Snowman (talk) 10:20, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Pop culture....
I was musing on adding Ged (Earthsea) though I know Jim might not approve but it is an iconic book :) Casliber (talk · contribs) 19:11, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Can we be sure he was hanging out with this species...? ;o) Bogbumper (talk) 21:54, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * lol Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:57, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
 * hrrumph  Jimfbleak -  talk to me?  15:13, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

Sexual dimorphism

 * "25 % larger than males - the largest difference between the sexes in any bird species,[2][3] though Ferguson-Lees and Christie say that "nine other mainly bird-eating Accipiters have the difference even more marked." There is a contradiction between the bit before "though" and the bit after. Snowman (talk) 11:28, 26 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Several sources, including Prof Ian Newton's monograph, say that the difference between male and female Sparrowhawks is the greatest in any species. But Ferguson-Lees and Christie reckon it's not. So what's the best way to explain that? Your thoughts, please... Bogbumper (talk) 20:47, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Taxobox image
Greetings, people!

Haven't read through the article yet, but I'd put money on that bird being a female rather than a male...! —GRM (talk) 20:16, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Feel free to change it if you think it's wrong - I'm happy to stand corrected! It does look a bit on the large side, but I thought some of the barring was quite rufous. Having said that, it's obviously not a juvenile and does not look rufous enough to be a male. So....... Bogbumper (talk) 14:59, 11 December 2009 (UTC)


 * The article intro says Adult male Eurasian Sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below but the image next to it is, to me at least, distinctly bluish and barely brownish at all. Compare with the other images, the obviously brown juvenile down the page and the male, further down, which looks like the top image. Contradiction leads to confusion. 78.144.69.120 (talk) 13:21, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

I have changed the caption of the second image from "Male" to "Female", as I am sure that's what it is. In the male the orange-brown colouring around the throat and belly is quite pronounced; the bird in the picture clearly lacks this colouring. Have a look at this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Newburyjohn (talk • contribs) 10:14, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

The killing strike
In a brief scan, I see no mention of the species' major weapon in taking birds in flight—namely, the last-second swing of the feet that almost doubles the speed of impact of the talons into the prey. I've seen reference to it a couple of times, and think that Attenburgh's Life of Birds demonstrated it—GRM (talk) 20:26, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

File:Accipiter nisus edit.jpg to appear as POTD
Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Accipiter nisus edit.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on August 6, 2015. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2015-08-06. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Chris Woodrich (talk) 00:03, 18 July 2015 (UTC)

Nisus and Scylla
I like the succinct sentence about Nisus and Scylla, but then when I followed the link to Nisos, that article says he was turned into a sea-eagle rather than a sparrowhawk.


 * A 1901 English translation of Voltaire's 1764 Philosophical Dictionary (the one cited in this article) has Nisus turned into a sparrowhawk https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/v/voltaire/dictionary/chapter444.html


 * Whilst Garth's 1717 translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses has "hawk" https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/ovid/o9m/book8.html


 * The Age of Fable (1855) by Thomas Bullfinch has "sea-eagle" https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bulfinch/thomas/b93fab/chapter13

Sea-eagle makes sense, in that Scylla was at sea clinging to Minos' ship when Nisos attacked her. But sparrowhawk makes sense as an habitual predator of larks and other small birds.

I wonder, are there different birds in differing Classical versions of the original legend, or is the variation due to later interpretation and translation?

Pelagic (talk) 20:56, 1 September 2015 (UTC)


 * Hmm, Britannica says Scylla was changed into a sea-bird, not a lark. Pelagic (talk) 21:34, 1 September 2015 (UTC)