"Little Red can fly!" The youngest member of the sparrowhawk family has learned to fly. For both the birds and the researchers who have camped out in the mountains over the past two months, this is something worth celebrating.

Guess which one is the girl? Female sparrowhawks possess a larger body size than males.

Taiwan's Besra Sparrowhawk (Accipiter virgatus) is a small carnivorous bird of prey from 30 to 40 centimeters in length that feeds on other birds of the Capitonidae and Timalinae families. For ornithological researchers, birds of prey are perhaps the most difficult of birds to observe in the wild. In order to maintain the broadest possible territory in which to capture prey and the most ideal point from which to gaze down upon the earth, these "kings of the sky" build their nests at least 15 meters above ground. They also tend to choose the tops of the tallest, straightest trees for their nests, locations which are least vulnerable to intrusions by other predators.

The observation post stands over 20 meters high. Researchers afraid of heights need not apply!

Previously, although the Besra Sparrowhawk was known to be the bird of prey most widely distributed across the island of Taiwan, there was no information available regarding its ecology or living habits. Thus, when researchers at the Taiwan Province Center for Endemic Species in Nantou's Jenai Mountain Region discovered a pair of Besra Sparrowhawks busy building their "love nest," they quickly set up a 20-meter-high observation post some ten meters from the nest to begin scientific observation.

The sharp, hooked beak of the sparrowhawk, a natural tool characteristic of all birds of prey.

For the next two months, four researchers lived with the birds around the clock, trading off periods of observation in shifts. When the nest's three eggs hatched into three fledgling sparrowhawks, the father sparrowhawk began leaving the nest to search for food in order to allow the mother sparrowhawk to recover her strength and provide the hatchlings with their daily nutrition. The researchers took advantage of periods when the nest was empty to attach colored bands to the feet of each of the fledglings: orange for the eldest, a male; purple for the second eldest, also a male; and red for the youngest, a female who became known as "Little Red." After the tiny fledglings were hatched, the cautious and concerned mother sparrowhawk expelled the food-providing father from the nest. The father was thus forced to wait for the fully recovered mother to leave the nest before he could slip in and spend his time with the infants. This display of control by the mother follows the typical division of labor for birds of prey-the female runs things inside the nest and the male takes care of business outside.

Her feathers filled out, the time for Little Red's departure from the nest grows near.

Although she will eventually grow to be physically larger than her brothers, Little Red's period of infancy lasted longer than them, and she learned to fly more slowly. Is Little Red reluctant to leave her mother? The way she clutches a tree branch as she tries to spread her wings reminds one of the trepidation of a small child learning to walk. When the little sparrowhawks' flying ability finally matures to a level comparable to that of their parents, they leave the nest and begin the search for their own territory to hunt. The mother and father sparrowhawks, whose nest-specially built for raising the hatchlings-is now empty, have done their job as parents, and the researchers who have lived "in the trees" for some 60 days watching the sparrowhawks, can at last take a rest. It's time to pack up and go home!

Birds of prey, nature's kings of the sky.

Yet, as the researchers busily continue with their natural resources survey work, they still take the time to look for signs of the three Besra Sparrowhawks with red, purple and orange bands tied to their feet. Unfortunately, they have come across no trace of Little Red and her relatives over the past three years, and cannot help but feel a certain sense of loss. If only they were to meet again, they would know for sure that Little Red and her brothers are roaming safe and free about the wooded mountains of Taiwan!

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Yao Cheng-teh

Research Assistant at Taiwan Province Center for Endemic Species

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The father supplies the food, but the mother does the feeding!

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Guess which one is the girl? Female sparrowhawks possess a larger body size than males.

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The observation post stands over 20 meters high. Researchers afraid of heights need not apply!

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The sharp, hooked beak of the sparrowhawk, a natural tool characteristic of all birds of prey.

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Her feathers filled out, the time for Little Red's departure from the nest grows near.

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Birds of prey, nature's kings of the sky.