The brown goshawk (''Accipiter fasciatus'') is a medium-sized

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

in the family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...

found in Australia and surrounding islands.

Description

Its upperparts are grey with a chestnut collar; its underparts are mainly rufous, finely barred with white. Thus it has similar colouring to the

collared sparrowhawk The collared sparrowhawk (''Accipiter cirrocephalus'') is a small, slim bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia, New Guinea and nearby smaller islands. As its name implies the collared sparrowhawk is a specialist in hunting sm ...

but is larger. The flight is fast and flexible. The body length is ; the wingspan, . Females are noticeably larger: adult males weigh , and adult females, .

Distribution and habitat

The brown goshawk is widespread through Australia,

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lo ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. In Australia, it is found mainly in

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forests and woodlands, as well as farmland and urban areas. In the Pacific, it mainly inhabits

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. It was also found on Norfolk Island to about 1790, and this may be another undescribed subspecies. However, the lack of specimens from Norfolk Island (1 historical skin and 9 subfossil bones is all the material that has been found) means that no genetic test can be conducted.

Feeding

Brown goshawks feed mainly on other medium-sized birds, while small mammals such as rats and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s are also taken. Brown goshawks often hunt near farmland or wetlands, where birds such as

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the ord ...

s and

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s are plentiful. Smaller prey such as

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

es,

pipit The pipits are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family (biology), family Motacillidae. The genus is wide ...

s and

fairy-wren The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...

s are also preyed on, right up to birds the size of domestic fowls and even large, aggressive birds such as

currawong Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Strepera'' in the family Artamidae native to Australia. These are the grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor''), pied currawong (''S. graculina''), and black ...

s and

kookaburras Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s, small

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s, and large

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s are also occasionally eaten. The main methods of catching prey are still-hunting, by which the goshawk waits on a hidden perch until prey comes within striking distance, and flying through undergrowth attempting to flush out small prey. Less often, goshawks will stoop on prey from above, or even chase small

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s on foot. When a brown goshawk is discovered by other birds, smaller species panic and flee for cover, while larger birds such as

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine Ravens, ...

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

s and

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

will aggressively mob it until it leaves the area.

Breeding

It nests in tall trees on a platform of sticks and twigs lined with green leaves. The

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

size is usually three, sometimes two or four. The incubation period is about 30 days, with chicks

fledging Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...

about 31 days after hatching.

Subspecies

There are twelve described

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: * ''A. f. fasciatus'' (nominate) - (Vigors et Horsfield, 1827) * ''A. f. buruensis'' - Stresemann, 1914 * ''A. f. didimus'' - (Mathews, 1912) * ''A. f. dogwa'' - Rand, 1941 * ''A. f. helmayri'' - Stresemann, 1922 * ''A. f. natalis'' - (Lister, 1889) * ''A. f. polycryptus'' - Rothschild et Hartert, 1915 * ''A. f. savu'' - Mayr, 1941 * ''A. f. stresemanni'' - Rensch, 1931 * ''A. f. tjendanae'' - Stresemann, 1925 * ''A. f. vigilax'' - (Wetmore, 1926) * ''A. f. wallacii'' - (Sharpe, 1874) Biolib.cz
/ref>

References

External links

BirdLife Australia Profile
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q114715

brown goshawk The brown goshawk (''Accipiter fasciatus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia and surrounding islands. Description Its upperparts are grey with a chestnut collar; its underparts are mainly rufous, f ...

Birds of prey Birds of the Lesser Sunda Islands Birds of New Guinea Birds of New Caledonia Birds of Vanuatu Diurnal raptors of Australia Birds of prey of Oceania