Brown Goshawk - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Australian Goshawk

Male Brown Goshawk
Photo by Tom Tarrant

Accipiter fasciatus

Includes: Christmas Island Goshawk

Identification

37-55 cm (14½-21½ in); tropical races smaller

• Grey or brown upperparts
• Brown head
• Rufous brown collar
• White underparts barred rufous

Immature
Photo by tcollins
Gunlom Northern Territory, Australia, August 2007

• Dark brown wings, buff below
• Grey dark barred tail
• Yellow legs
• Rufous thighs
• Yellow iris
  

Females larger
Juveniles

• Brown streaked plumage
• Grey brown iris

Similar Species

ssp A. f. natalis – Christmas Island Goshawk
Photo © by davidfree
Christmas Island, 8 March 2022

Collared Sparrowhawk

Distribution

Indonesia and Australasia. Breeds on Christmas Island and in the Lesser Sundas from Lombok to Sumba and Timor, the Moluccas, southern and eastern New Guinea, New Caledonia and Vanuatu and Australia. Occurs throughout most of the continent but scarce in the arid interior and on much of the central south coast. Also found on Tasmania and most coastal islands.

Nomadic or a partial-migrant in parts of Australian range with northward movements recorded, resident elsewhere.

Photo by stoop
Great Dividing Range, South-east Queensland, Australia, December 2009

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Twelve subspecies are recognized^[1].

• A. f. natalis:

• Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) - may prove to be a full species, Christmas Island Goshawk

• A. f. tjendanae:

• Sumba (Lesser Sundas)

• A. f. wallacii:

• Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and adjacent Lesser Sundas

• A. f. stresemanni:

• Tanahjampea, Kalao, Bonerate, Kalaotoa, Madu and Tukanbesi islands

• A. f. hellmayri:

• Lesser Sundas (Timor, Alor, Semau and Rote)

• A. f. savu:

• Sawu (Lesser Sundas)

• A. f. polycryptus:

• Eastern New Guinea

• A. f. rosselianus:

• Rossell (Louisiade Archipelago)

• A. f. dogwa:

• Southern New Guinea

• A. f. didimus:

• Buru (southern Moluccas) and northern Australia

• A. f. fasciatus:

• Australia, Tasmania, Solomon Islands (Rennell, Bellona) and Timor

• A. f. vigilax:

• New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands and Vanuatu

An additional subspecies buruensis, is not generally recognised^[2].

Habitat

Juvenile
Photo by Hans&Judy Beste
Taromeo, Queensland, Australia, March 2016

Open forest and woodlands from rainforest to dry scrubland. Often in riverine woodland.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists of small mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, arthropods and insects. They occasionally eat carrion.

Breeding

They build a stick nest lined with fresh eucalypt leaves. The eggs are incubated by the female.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2) DRAFT. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Avibase
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2016)
5. Birds in Backyards

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown Goshawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Goshawk

External Links

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