Malawi has no endemic bird species. A common raptor is the –

Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk

The Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk - Accipiter rufiventris - also known as the Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk, occurs in isolated patches of sub-Saharan Africa, from Ethiopia, eastern DRC and Kenya to Uganda, eastern Zambia to South Africa. In southern Africa, it is scarce to fairly common in Zimbabwe's eastern highlands and adjacent Mozambique, and mesic areas of South Africa. It generally prefers afromontane forest or stands of alien trees in otherwise open habitats, such as fynbos or grassland; it is also adapted to living in suburbia.

Description

Females larger than males. In southern Africa, the unmarked rufous underparts are diagnostic. Upperparts slate grey, long tail broadly barred black and grey. Throat is buffy, cheeks to belly rufous; eyes, cere and legs yellow. Underparts streaked and barred rufous. Head and neck slaty grey, giving a hooded appearance.

Call

A sharp staccato “kee-kee-kee-kee-kee”

Food

It almost exclusively eats small birds, typically hunting by soaring across the sky then stooping and pursuing its prey. They will also take small mammals and reptiles.

Breeding

The Egg-laying season is from is from August-December and the small stick nest is placed high in a tree at the forest edge. The nest is mainly built by the female. She lays 2 to 4 eggs, which are incubated almost solely by the female, while the male feeds her regularly at the nest. The chicks are brooded and cared for by the female for the first 25 days. They leave the nest between 29 to 40 days.  

Conservation Status – Least concern

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion. The population is suspected to be increasing in much of its range owing to the introduction of exotic plantations and an increase in suitable habitat. The species is declining locally in east Africa owing to ongoing habitat destruction. However, the overall population trend is suspected to be increasing. Not threatened, in fact its range has increased due to the introduction of alien trees, which it uses for nesting in otherwise open areas.

Birdwatching

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