A gray-headed, pale-eyed, brown-backed hawk with a streak down the center of the throat, bold streaking on white underparts, and barred thighs. Shows whitish underwings with scattered dark markings at the rear and tips, and a barred tail. Immature is brown-headed with rufous markings on underside. Found in forest and mangroves from lowlands to mountains on Sulawesi. Gray head and central throat stripe make adult distinctive. Immature shows barring restricted to thighs, unlike immature Japanese and Chinese Sparrowhawks, and poorly marked underwings, unlike Japanese Sparrowhawk. Call reported as a “kik-kik-kik.”