The first observation of the Levant sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes (Severtzov, 1850) in Slovakia

On May 1 5, 201 2 an individual of Levant sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes was observed at the southern edge of Trebišov town in eastern Slovakia, situated in the Východoslovenská rovina Lowlands. The sighting was documented with photographs. This is the first recorded occurrence of this species in terms of the bird fauna of Slovakia. The present article describes in detail its distribution and breeding in eastern Hungary and western Romania, based on an isolated population in the Pannonian Basin at the north-western edge of its breeding range. The occurrence of the Levant sparrowhawk beyond the boundaries of its breeding range and outside the Pannonian Basin consists mostly of rare movements by young individuals (northern Moravia, central and northern Poland) far north of its breeding range. An adult male was observed in south-eastern Poland in the pre-breeding period, and in Slovakia an adult female was observed in the breeding period.