SCHOPPERS J (1995) Short contributions: Eight eggs in nest of Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus. LIMOSA 68 (3): 117-119.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus On 28 May 1994, a Sparrowhawk's nest with eight eggs was found in a hawthorn Crataegus sp. near Lobith (The Netherlands). Egg dimensions and pigmentation did not show remarkable between-egg variations (Tab. 1, Photo), so all eggs might have been produced by a single female. Two eggs were less intensively stained, wich is typical of last-laid eggs in a clutch. Four eggs disappeared during the incubation period, two eggs did not hatch and two eggs resulted in fledglings. The female was trapped on 1 July. She was in her third calender year or older and rather large and heavy: wing length 241.5 mm, body mass 309 g. Sparrowhawk clutches of eight eggs are rarely reported in the literature. Most are attributed to two females laying in the same nest. When photographs of the clutch were shown to three Dutch raptorphiles with a lot of experience with Sparrowhawks, there was a slight preponderance to ascribe the clutch to two females.

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