This hawk rides the wind across continents.
The Chinese Sparrowhawk is a sleek, agile raptor that travels incredible distances between its breeding and wintering grounds. In summer, it patrols the forests of East Asia — from China and Korea to parts of Russia — before migrating south to spend the winter in Southeast Asia, crossing mountains and oceans along the way.
With slim, pointed wings and a long tail, it’s built for speed and maneuverability. Males are pale grey above with white underparts, while females are slightly larger and show fine rufous barring on the chest. But both share fierce orange eyes that miss nothing.
Unlike bulkier hawks, the Chinese Sparrowhawk specializes in hunting small prey, darting through the trees after insects, frogs, and tiny birds. During migration, they sometimes travel in loose flocks, gliding high on thermals and creating one of Asia’s lesser-known raptor spectacles.
They nest quietly in forest trees, building modest stick nests where both parents care for the chicks. Despite their elegance, they’re easy to overlook, disappearing into the canopy with silent wings.
The Chinese Sparrowhawk proves that even the smallest of hawks can live a life of vast journeys, swift hunts, and skies that stretch from one end of a continent to the other.