Food Habits of the Macaronesian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus granti) on Madeira

The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) is a small bird of prey distributed throughout Europe and Asia and closely linked to forest environments. It is a predator of a wide diversity of prey, primarily birds (Newton et al. 1986). On the mainland, the male Eurasian Sparrowhawk typically captures small birds (40–120 g in mass), whereas females (nearly twice the mass of males) prey on larger birds (up to 500 g; Opdam 1975, Newton 1978). Before and during egg-laying, during incubation, and until the nestlings are half-grown, females usually do not hunt, and males provide food for them. Then, females gradually start hunting as the nestlings demand more food (Newton et al. 1986). Hence, prey species are captured almost exclusively by males during most of the incubation and early nestling stages. During these stages, smaller prey would thus be expected, compared to the post-fledging...