female is larger than the male. The adult male is blue-grey above and pale below, with underparts and leg feathers finely barred in rufous and white. His head is blue-grey as well, with a white throat bisected by a dark central stripe (sometimes quite faint). The female is similar, though her plumage is generally a darker brownish-grey. Both sexes have orangish-yellow legs and a yellow cere. Behaviour Breeding The Levant sparrowhawk breeds from mid-May through August. The pair is territorial while breeding, often performing high-circling aerial displays. The female is thought to make the nest. She builds a new one every year, a small structure of twigs on a branch or in a fork of a broad-leaved tree. The nest tree is often near running water, typically in open woodland, on a forest edge, or in an isolated clump of trees. The nest, which measures up to across and deep, is lined with green leaves. Most nests are located between above the ground, but they have been found as low as and as high as . The female lays a clutch of which she alone incubates for . Hatching is asynchronous. Nestlings fledge some after hatching, and are independent about later. Flight and migration Though able to flap continually (like most birds), Levant sparrowhawks typically use soaring-and-gliding flight while migrating; they also use thermals when those are available, and are known to occasionally hover. Population In Armenia the population of Levant Sparrowhawks is estimated as 180–220 breeding pairs. Conservation and threats Because of its vast range and stable population, the Levant Sparrowhawk is listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The development of wind farms may affect its numbers. References Citations Cited texts External links Levant sparrowhawk Levant sparrowhawk Birds of prey of Europe Birds of Western Asia