Japanese Sparrowhawk

Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) is a small Asian hawk with relatively broad rounded wings and a short tail; males have reddish-barred flanks while females are more heavily brown-barred. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds across eastern Asia including Japan, hunting small birds through woodland and forest edges, and many birds migrate south toward Southeast Asia for winter. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).