Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk, adult with nestlings

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A powerful raptor of northern forests, the Northern Goshawk is the largest North American accipiter. It maneuvers through dense woods, taking prey as small as squirrels and as large as grouse, crows, and snowshoe hare.

Description

• Large hawk.
• Long tail.
• Broad, rounded wings.
• Dark cap and stripe through eye.
• White eyebrow stripe.
• Gray belly.
• Blue-gray back.

• Size: 53-64 cm (21-25 in)
• Wingspan: 103-117 cm (41-46 in)
• Weight: 631-1364 g (22.27-48.15 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar; female larger, with browner upperparts and coarser markings below.

Sound

Mostly silent. Sometimes issues a plaintive wail or, when alarmed, an agitated series of brief, high syllables.

Conservation Status

Apparently not as vulnerable as other raptor species to eggshell thinning from pesticides. Timber harvesting leads to some destruction of nests. The Northern Goshawk occurs even in fragmented forests, but perhaps less consistently than in large contiguous forest areas. Appears to be increasing slightly in the East.

Other Names

Autour des palombes (French)
Gavilán azor (Spanish)
Goshawk (English)

Cool Facts

• The Northern Goshawk is well known for its fierce defense of its nest. It commonly attacks people and other animals that approach the nest too closely.
• The Northern Goshawk can be very persistent in pursuing prey. One goshawk was seen pursuing a snowshoe hare for 45 to 60 minutes along a hedgerow until finally the hare ran into a clearing and was seized. A goshawk may also chase poultry into buildings.

• Attila the Hun wore an image of a Northern Goshawk on his helmet.

• The Northern Goshawk is found across northern America and Eurasia. Most of the Eurasian races have much more dark barring on the chest than the American form, but about half of all Siberian goshawks are nearly white.

• The name "goshawk" comes from the Old English words gos, meaning goose, and hafoc meaning hawk. It is pronounced as if the words are still separate, without any "sh" sound.

Sources used to construct this page:

Squires, John R., and Richard T. Reynolds. 1997. Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). In The Birds of North America, No. 298 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.