Posted by sylvester alphonso on January 25, 2022 at 11:13 pm
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On my recent trips to Nhava Shiva, I spotted this beautiful bird. The word Shikra originates from the Persian language meaning a person who is blessed with a sharp eyesight. These beautiful eyes remind me of the late legendary Indian Bollywood actress Madhubala.
The migrant Eurasian Sparrowhawk is very similar to this bird, but a closer look reveals the longer legs, rufous cheek patch, and the absence of mesial stripes. Usually solitary, hides in leafy branches, pounces on unsuspecting prey, occasionally chases small birds, lizards, and large insects.
It has a loud titu titu call and also shrieks iheeya iheeya. It is a small bird of prey with uniform pale grey head and upper parts and white under parts with orange brown spots on the breast. The larger female has brown upper parts and yellow eyes instead of red.