The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (Accipiter ovampensis) is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It takes its name from the Ovamboland in northern Namibia. Description The Ovambo sparrowhawk is a small sparrowhawk with the typical broad winged, long-tailed shape of a member of the genus Accipiter. The adults have plain grey upperparts with white bars on the rump and white underparts which are finely barred with grey but with a plain white vent. The tail has three dark bars and a broad, dark subterminal band. The bill is black, contrasting with the red cere, the eyes are dark red and the legs are orange. There is a melanistic form which is all black except for the white barred flight feathers on the underwing. The juvenile is browner and may be white over the underparts and head or have a brown head and rufous underparts. Females are about 14% bigger than males, weighing in at to the males . The total length is about and the wingspan is . Distribution and movements It occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and breeds mostly south of the equator. It is a localised and uncommon breeder in east Africa north as far as Ethiopia and Eritrea south to Tanzania. The main range is in southern Africa where it extends from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to northern Namibia, Botswana, northern South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. In western Africa it is found from the Central African Republic in the east to the Ivory Coast in the west. Birds seen in the northern parts of the range, especially in west Africa, are probably nomadic non-breeding visitors. Habitat The Ovambo sparrowhawk generally favours the edges of drier forest, woodland and exotic plantations, moving into surrounding savanna and tall woodland with patches of open ground, such as riverine and broad-leaved woodland. In southern Africa its habitat is usually dominated by miombo (Brachystegia spp), Mahobohobo (Uapaca kirkiana) or Zambezi teak (Baikiaea plurijuga). Habits The Ovambo sparrowhawk is almost exclusively a hunter of birds mostly up to in weight but females will attack larger birds such as doves up to , it has even been recorded catching a budgerigar. Its hunting technique is more like that of a falcon rather than a typical sparrowhawk, hunting by soaring at a relatively high height and stooping on any prey spotted, the chasing