Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae)

Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) - HBW 2, p. 158

French: Épervier d'Europe German: Sperber Spanish: Gavilán Común

Taxonomy: Falco Nisus Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Sometimes considered to include A. rufiventris. Forms superspecies with A. madagascariensis, A. rufiventris and perhaps the A. striatus complex. Birds from mountains of C Asia (Tien Shan) sometimes separated in race dementjevi; many other dubious races described. Six subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

nisus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Europe and Asia Minor E to W Siberia; winters S to NE Africa and Middle East.
nisosimilis (Tickell, 1833) - C & E Asia; winters S to India, Sri Lanka and Indochina.
melaschistos Hume, 1869 - Himalayas and mountains of C Asia.

See all 6 subspecies

nisus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Europe and Asia Minor E to W Siberia; winters S to NE Africa and Middle East.
nisosimilis (Tickell, 1833) - C & E Asia; winters S to India, Sri Lanka and Indochina.
melaschistos Hume, 1869 - Himalayas and mountains of C Asia.
wolterstorffi Kleinschmidt, 1901 - Corsica and Sardinia.
granti Sharpe, 1890 - Madeira and Canary Is.
punicus Erlanger, 1897 - NW Africa, from Morocco to Tunisia.