This hungry sparrowhawk was not going to be disturbed while it enjoyed its meal.

The normally shy bird stayed put while Matt Clark filmed it tucking into a pigeon it caught in his garden at Sutton St Nicholas, near Hereford.

Matt said he stood filming only a metre away from the hawk while it devoured its prey.

"I have more than 10 minutes of footage," he said. "He’s not leaving his meal for anything. The magpies tried and he fought them off, which is what alerted me to him."

According to the RSPB, sparrowhawks are small birds of prey that are adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces, so gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them.

Adult male sparrowhawks have a bluish-grey back and wings and orangey-brown bars on their chest and belly. Females and young birds have a brown back and wings, with brown bars beneath.

Sparrowhawks have bright yellow or orangey eyes, long yellow legs and long talons. Females are larger than males, as with all birds of prey.

They mainly eat small birds. Males can catch birds up to thrush size, but females, being bigger, can catch birds up to pigeon size. Some sparrowhawks even catch bats.