Grey-headed goshawk

The grey-headed goshawk (Accipiter poliocephalus) is a lightly built, medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.

Grey-headed goshawk
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Accipiter
Species:
A. poliocephalus
Binomial name
Accipiter poliocephalus
(Gray, 1858)

Description

The upperparts are grey, paler on the head and neck; the wings are dark; the underparts are mainly white; the cere and legs are red-orange. The body is 30–38 cm long; females are larger than males. Juveniles have dark brown wings.

Distribution and habitat

The grey-headed goshawk is endemic to New Guinea and adjacent islands. It has been recorded from Saibai Island, Queensland, an Australian territory in the north-western Torres Strait. It lives in forests, forest edges and secondary growth.

Breeding

This species nests in tall trees on a platform of sticks and leaves.

Feeding

It eats small reptiles and insects.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Accipiter poliocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • BirdLife International. (2006). Species factsheet: Accipiter poliocephalus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/12/2006
  • Coates, B.J. (1985), The Birds of Papua New Guinea, Vol. 1, Non-Passerines. Dove: Alderley, Queensland. ISBN 0-9590257-0-7
  • Morcombe, Michael. (2000). Field Guide to Australian Birds. Steve Parish Publishing: Queensland. ISBN 1-876282-10-X
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