Besra

The besra, or besra sparrowhawk, is a medium-sized raptor 29–36cm long, with short broad wings and a long tail suited to fast manoeuvring through dense vegetation. It is like a darker version of the shikra, with darker upperparts, a strongly barred underwing, a broader gular stripe and thin long legs and toes. The adult male has dark blue-grey upperparts and is white barred reddish-brown below. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a widespread resident breeder in dense forests throughout southern Asia, from the Indian subcontinent east across South-east Asia and into East Asia. It nests in trees, building a new nest each year, and hunts like other small hawks, relying on surprise as it flies from a hidden perch or flicks over a bush to catch its prey, which includes lizards and dragonflies (Wikipedia, general species account).