Shikra

The shikra is a small hawk, 26–30cm long, with short rounded wings and a narrow, fairly long tail. Adults are grey above and whitish below with fine rufous bars, the lower belly less barred and the thighs whitish, with a narrow dark stripe down the throat. Males have a red eye; females have a yellowish-orange eye, browner upperparts and heavier barring, and are slightly larger. In flight the male shows a pale wing lining and blackish wing-tips. Juveniles are streaked and spotted on the breast (Wikipedia, general species account).

It has a sharp two-note call and the flap-and-glide flight typical of small hawks of its group. Drongos imitate its call, and the common hawk-cuckoo mimics its plumage. The African forms may be a separate species but are usually treated as subspecies. It was moved from Accipiter to the genus Tachyspiza in a 2024 reclassification. In India it is resident across a very large range; SoIB 2023 finds its current trend stable and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).