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Habitat and Prey Traits Shaped Sparrowhawk Diet Around 62 Czech Nests

Male Eurasian sparrowhawk standing over bird prey
Research · Ecology

A study of Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) diet in rural Czechia found that both the surrounding landscape and characteristics of potential prey were associated with which birds appeared in the raptors’ diet. Researchers analysed 1,107 prey items collected around 62 sparrowhawk nests and compared them with local bird availability.

Diet varied with the surrounding landscape

The diet consisted almost entirely of birds—98.9% of prey items and 99.5% of prey biomass. Its composition differed with the structure of land cover around the nests, while the available bird community also varied with habitat. The authors conclude that habitat structure in the hunting area helps shape which prey species breeding sparrowhawks encounter and take.

Despite the broad prey spectrum, relatively few species dominated. Eurasian blackbird, song thrush, common chaffinch, European robin and great tit together made up 55.3% of all prey items. Six species accounted for 77.6% of prey biomass, with Eurasian blackbird (32.1%) and song thrush (18.6%) contributing about half on their own; common wood-pigeon and common starling were also important biomass contributors.

The study also found that prey were not represented simply in proportion to their local abundance. Some bird species were selected more often than others relative to how commonly they occurred in the surrounding area.

Several prey traits were associated with vulnerability

Bird species of intermediate body mass—roughly 15–200 g in this study—species occurring at lower population densities and species with brighter plumage were associated with greater vulnerability to sparrowhawk predation. The researchers therefore found that prey selection reflected a combination of what was locally available and characteristics of the prey species themselves.

Although the sparrowhawks specialised strongly on birds, the prey records covered a wide range of bird species. The authors describe the predator as a bird specialist that can exploit many different species within the local prey community.

Sources and image credit

  1. Dvořák, T., & Riegert, J. (2026). Diet of breeding Eurasian sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) in relation to land cover, food supply, and prey species characteristics in Central Europe. Population Ecology, 68(2), e70021. https://doi.org/10.1002/1438-390x.70021Primary peer-reviewed study first published 10 March 2026. Researchers analysed 1,107 prey items from the surroundings of 62 Eurasian sparrowhawk nests in rural Czechia; diet consisted almost entirely of birds and varied with land-cover structure, while intermediate body mass, lower population density and brighter plumage were associated with greater prey vulnerability.

Image: Eddy Van 3000 — adult male Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) plucking bird prey on a driveway in Sint-Katelijne-Waver near Antwerp, Belgium, photographed 19 April 2008; Wikimedia Commons / Flickr; representative predation image, not a bird or prey item from the Czech study · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Explore species Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula Explore species Song Thrush Turdus philomelos Explore species Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs Explore species European Robin Erithacus rubecula Explore species Great Tit Parus major Explore species Common Wood-Pigeon Columba palumbus Explore species Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris Explore species

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