Experiences with species
I battled to see my first Black Sparrowhawk, my first sighting
eventually late in 2007 at De Hel in Cape Town. This was a fairly brief view of one flying over the trees.
In Zimbabwe Eastern Highlands in February and March 2008, I saw a few flying with their typical strong flapping
motion. In March 2008 I was walking the dogs in Randburg and saw a large raptor fly into a Eucalyptus Tree.
It turned out to be a Black Sparrowhawk, and since that I have seen the adult male & female and a young female
around the same area. In that year, the female was the classic pied form, whereas the male was the less common
melanistic form with a white throat patch. The same female, some new mates and some of her offspring have been seen
in subsequent years.
Other names: Great Sparrowhawk, Black Goshawk
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