Classic British Flight Sim

Hi Chaps

I happened to walk into the living room this afternoon.. bored on a wet and miserable day. I looked out of the front window to see this..






I couldn't tell what it had got for a while.. it seemed dead and motionless but then it tried to move and get free and I could see it was a starling. I'm not sure if it had been caught on the ground or grabbed in flight. I know this is mother nature n'all but I felt sorry for the starling.. obviously in a great deal of distress so I thought I'd open the front door. No way. Even before the door was fully open, the Hawk took off, still holding the starling firmly in it's talons Not sure what sort of Hawk it was. It was difficult trying to identify any sort of colouring with its wet feathers. Perhaps one of you can identify it.
Sorry about the quality of the pictures btw. It was too dark taking the shots indoors through glass without the flash and the flash would have bounced back off the glass anyway.

ATB
DaveB

Mrs Watson tells me its a Sparrow Hawk, probably a female. She's a train falconer so know such things

Almost certainly a sparrowhawk

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sparrowhawk

Especially as it's caught a starling. Seen several of them soaring over the houses near us in SW London.

Ah.. thank you both I didn't get a clear view of it's breast feathers and the speed it took off still holding the Starling was breath-taking.. there it was.. gone! Pity they don't go for bloody Magpies though I guess a Magpie would be too big and dangerous for it to handle!

ATB
DaveB

SHMBO tells me size is no problem, sparrow hawks have been known to go for wood pigeons. She reckons your one was fairly juvenile as it still had some white feathers.

Mrs G concurs that it's a Sparrowhawk as well, being a birdie type.

Definitely a female Spar, sub-adult by the patchiness and irregular feathers.

Richard

Well.. unless it had a tag with a barcode on, Mrs B wouldn't have known

I got a feeling it was a young bird with how the feathers around its head and neck were flecked.. not grown in. I'm glad they might take Magpies.. that's one bird I really don't like. Wood Pigeons don't do any harm really.. other than cr@ping on your car and windows but Magpies.. no, I don't like them at all

Late edit: Thanks Richard
ATB
DaveB

I thought it was a Mk.200

Wot's rong wiv Magpies, Dave?

EDIT:
In fact, we hear that the UK poisoned cockchafers out of existence, so Starlings became Starvings, and are somewhat endangered in the UK. Well, if you want some back, they've invaded Australia in a big way. When we moved up here, I had to put wire mesh around our gutters to stop them continuing to breed in our roof. Give me a Magpie any day.