---
title: "Shikra"
description: "Tachyspiza badia — Vogels. The shikra (Tachyspiza badia) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/shikra
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Shikra

> Tachyspiza badia — Vogels. The shikra (Tachyspiza badia) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk.

- Scientific name: *Tachyspiza badia*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos)
- iNaturalist observations: 10047
- iNaturalist taxon: [1583224](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1583224)

## Names

- en: Shikra
- de: Schikra
- es: Gavilán chikra
- fr: Épervier shikra

## Countries with the most observations

IN (5790), TH (822), LK (341), GM (135), AE (127), ZA (119), CN (108), BJ (89), KH (81), VN (79), KZ (64), UG (64)

## Summary

The shikra (Tachyspiza badia) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usually been considered as subspecies of the shikra. The shikra is very similar in appearance, as well as behavior, at least to some degree, to other species including the Chinese sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza soloensis, formerly Accipiter soloensis), Eurasian goshawk (Astur gentilis) and Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). They have a sharp two-note call and exhibit the flap-and-glide…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikra

## Photo

![Shikra](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/shikra/medium.jpg)

Photo: Sivakumar · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9272518

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/shikra?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).