- Accipiter novaehollandiae
Identification
44–55 cm; two colour morphs, white and grey
Grey morph
- Grey head and upperparts
- Dark primaries
- Grey barring on breast and tail
- White underparts
The white morph is completely white
Both sexes have dark eyes and orange-yellow legs
Distribution
Asia and Australasia:
Southeast Asia: found in Indonesia
Australasia: New Guinea, Australia: (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia), Melanesia and the Solomon Islands.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Their preferred habitats are rain and open forests and forest edges, tall woodlands; adjacent open countryside and timbered watercourses.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of birds and small mammals such as rabbits, possums, and bats. They also take snakes, lizards, frogs and insects.
Breeding
The grey and white morphs interbreed freely. They are monogomous and stay with their partner for life. Breeding takes place from July to December.
They build their nest in tall trees on a platform of sticks and twigs with a central depression lined with green leaves. The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs, which are incubated by the female for about 35 days. Chicks fledge 35-40 days after hatching. The male provides the food for the female to feed to the young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2015)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey Goshawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Goshawk
