Montana Field Guide

Adults are dark grayish-blue above, with a very dark crown. The tail is white-tipped with broad gray bars. Under-parts are white with rusty barring from the throat to the legs, and white under the base of the tail. The legs are yellow and the iris of the eye is red. Adult females are similar to males, only duskier. Immature sharp-shins are brown above, with rufous (rusty red) coloring on the neck. Underneath, they are dull white with distinct brown spots from the neck to the legs. Immature sharp-shins have yellow legs and yellow eyes. In flight, sharp-shinned hawks exhibit typical accipiter flight of alternately flapping, then gliding. Sharp-shinned hawks range in length from 10-14 inches, and have a wingspan of 18-24 inches, with the males smaller than the females.

Cooper's hawks have similar coloration, but are larger (about crow-sized). in flight, sharp-shinned hawks exhibit a squared tail, and cooper's hawks have a more rounded tail. these two species are among the hardest to tell apart in the field. immature sharp-shinned hawks are colored like immature merlins, but have shorter, rounded wings, and yellow instead of dark eyes. their heads are also smaller in proportion to their bodies than the merlin's.

Sharp-shinned hawks occur in Montana year-round, but little is known about the migration patterns of the birds that nest here (FWP). Bozeman migr.: 3/15-5/20 and 8/28-10/10; peaks 4/25 & 9/10 (Skaar 1969). Statewide peaks observed late Aug (Davis 1961).

They most commonly use heavy timber, especially even-aged stands of conifers, but sometimes hunt in open areas (FWP). Bozeman area: in summer seen in wooded areas of valley, but more numerous in the foothills and lower reaches of the montane forest; in winter it occurs in forests and thickets of the valley (Skaar 1969).

They feed almost entirely on songbirds, although they occasionally take small mammals and insects.

Near Fortine, its numbers have decreased in recent years.

Sharp-shinned hawks arrive at the nest sites in late April, and complete their clutches of three to five eggs by late May. The nests are built in thick timber, usually well-hidden within the forest canopy. Incubation lasts about 33 days, and the young start to fly when about 23 days old (FWP). Flying young seen Aug 2 near Fortine. Young still in nest in early Aug (Skaar 1969). Eggs observed on Jun 6 and Jul 3 (Davis 1961).