Another mystery hawk

[karl_lehmann]

Can anyone ID this one? It was shot (photographed!) in Kalahari

Gemsbok National Park - looks like an Accipiter but I have no clue

which one.

 

Thanks in advance!<div></div>

[mark_chappell]

how big?

[karl_lehmann]

It looked pretty small to me, but I had nothing to compare it with.

[snakeroot]

Bigger than a peregrine but smaller than an eagle?

[bill_atwood]

Another damn immature accipiter. Goshawk or Sparrowhawk. My guess is Gabar Goshawk.

[mark_chappell]

I'm with Bill -- if small, almost certainly a juvenile/immature gabar goshawk. The feet look

pretty hefty, though, and since we can't judge the size there's a remote possibility it might be

a juvenile chanting goshawk (either dark c.g., or pale c.g.; I can't tell). It's been WAY too

many years since I saw these in the wild for me to be at all sure.

[bill_thorlin]

This is truly difficult. I have some knowledge of the birds of East & Central Africa and have also referred back to the guide I used ( Williams/Arlott ) and can find nothing that really fits.

 

The Goshawks appear to have red legs and not yellow but the red face/beak markings ( I think that is what the photograph shows ) seem to fit with the Gabar and the Dark Chanting. Have no information on a change of leg colour when maturity is reached so perhaps someone could help on this.

 

Little Sparrowhawk has the yellow legs but not the red face/beak markings.

 

My reference does not include South Africa in the range/habitat for any of the above noted. May be that this is a specifically South African species and someone with greater knowledge of that area would be needed to help.

 

If I get a chance over the weekend I will try and check further but at present it seems to be another ( possibly immature ) mystery. Sorry I cannot help further.

[karl_lehmann]

Thanks guys. Yes, the face/beak marking is red - here's a crop of the head that shows it more clearly.

 

I also converted this one to sRGB, which I forgot to do before posting the original.<div></div>

[david_winter2]

Hi Karl,

 

It's an immature Gabar Goshawk. The relatively short legs (PCG's have very long legs), size,

soft-part colouration and streaked breast all indicate this. Nice pic!

[karl_lehmann]

Thanks David, I was starting to think I'd never positively identify this one!

[evelyn_miraglia]

This hawk species has attacked my two dogs in Staten Island, NY. I have no idea what they are called but they are in Bloomingdale Park in Staten Island,New York. There are a couple and they are extremely bold in that they will come into a yard even when human(s) are present. I have called up the NY City wildlife to complain that these birds are now too comfortable in that they are attacking domestic pets. The male has a four foot wing span and the female about 2.5 to 3 feet. They are now not only in South Africa but now in the suburbs of the city of New York, USA.

[bill_thorlin]

Wow. Amazing.

 

These two must have set a world record for long distance flying by a Goshawk as they are resident in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.

 

They must also have been on steroids as they are normally 12-15 inches long.

[mark_chappell]

<I>This hawk species has attacked my two dogs in Staten Island, NY. I have no idea what

they are called but they are in Bloomingdale Park in Staten Island,New York. There are a

couple and they are extremely bold in that they will come into a yard even when human(s)

are present. I have called up the NY City wildlife to complain that these birds are now too

comfortable in that they are attacking domestic pets. The male has a four foot wing span

and the female about 2.5 to 3 feet. They are now not only in South Africa but now in the

suburbs of the city of New York, USA.</i><P>

 

As Bill implies, they are not Gabar goshawks happening is that they've got a nest nearby

and are just defending it against intruders (VERY doubtful if their interest in domestic pets

is gustatory, unless those pets are rabbits, rodents, or small birds). I've been dived at by

Cooper's hawks that sometimes nest on my university campus -- in fact, students

reporting swooping attacks is how we discovered a couple of those nests. One pair

nested directly over a major campus pathway used by thousands of students every day.

Those birds never attacked anyone; their nest was discovered because of little bits of prey

(feathers, feet, etc.) dropped onto the walkway.

 

<P>In raptors, males are nearly always much smaller than females.