- Accipiter gentilis
Identification
46–63 cm (18-25¾ in) Robust bird
- Long narrow tail
- Short rounded wings
- Bold white eyebrow
Adult
- Blue-grey above
- Black crown
- Pale underparts finely barred with grey
Immature Brown above and streaked below
Distribution
In America, breeds from Alaska east through Mackenzie and northern Quebec to Newfoundland, and south to New Mexico, Great Lakes, and New England; also southward to northern Appalachians. Winters south to Virginia and Southwest.
A widespread species in the Western Palearctic breeding from Iberia east to the Black Sea and Caucasus and north to northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 8 subspecies[1]
- A. g. gentilis:
- A. g. arrigonii:
- A. g. buteoides:
- A. g. albidus:
- North-eastern Siberia to Kamchatka Peninsula
- A. g. schvedowi:
- A. g. fujiyamae:
- A. g. atricapillus:
- North America south to southern US and western Mexico
- A. g. laingi:
- South-western Canada (Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island)
Subspecies A.g. apache (Sierra Madre Occidental Mexico to SE Arizona and SW New Mexico USA; Maderas del Carmen? Mexico) is not recognised by all authorities[1]
Habitat
Deciduous or coniferous woodland interspersed with open areas. Often over more open country in winter.
Behaviour
Action
They often sit upright, with a hip-heavy outline. They fly at tree-top level with slow wing-beats interspersed with short straight glides.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of small and medium sized birds and mammals, even capercaillie and hares.
Breeding
They nest high in a tree, about 10-15 m up. They often re-use the nest.
Vocalisation
Usually silent, sometimes lets out a loud kak-kak-kak-kak-kak when disturbed. Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eurasian Goshawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eurasian_Goshawk
External Links
