No substantiated nesting record for the Japanese Sparrow-hawk,
Accipiter virgatus (Temminck & Schlegel), has hitherto been known in Japan. The writer found its nests and eggs at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Green leaves of
Chamaecyparis were used on the sitting bed and this was the main difference from the nests of other hawks.
Locality 1. Takinodai, Subashiri-mura, Sunto-gun, Shizuoka; at 800m. of altitude, in the mixed coniferous forest of
Abies firma, Chamaecyparis obtusa, and
Larix Kapferi. The nest was on a fork of tree trunk, 7m. above the ground. Date: 27 May, 1954.
Locality 2. Nishiyama, Oyama-machi, Sunto-gun, Shizuoka; in the coniferous forest of
Cryptomeria japonica (Fig. 1 and 2). Date: 14 August, 1954.
One of the eggs of this species is shown in Fig. 3, with that of
Accipiter nisus nisosimilis (Tickell), and the measurements are:
A.
virgatus 34.5×28.5mm. 14.5g.
35.5×29.0mm. 16.0g.
A.
n. nisosimilis 41.0×2.5mm. 23.0g.
40.0×33.0mm. 23.5g.
40.5×33.0mm. 24.0g.
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