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6

Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae) Alternate name(s): "White Goshawk", "Grey-backed Goshawk", "Variable Goshawk" Aboriginal name(s): White morph: "pukani" [tjapwurrung] Size: 40-55 cm; wing span 0.7-1.1 m Weight: 250-470 g (male), 530-1050 g (female)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Grey Goshawks are small raptors. Their plumage comes in two morphologies, grey and white. Grey morphology birds have a light-grey head, neck and mantle, grey wings with dark-grey tips and a grey tail. The underwing pattern is almost white, with light-grey tips of the primaries. White morphology birds have an all-white plumage, with faint light-grey edges of the wing feathers. Both morphologies have a yellow bill with black tip and yellow legs and feet with black talons. Juvenile grey morphology Grey Goshawks have a grey and white mottled breast. "Raptors" (or "birds of prey"), most prominently, but also some species of waders, show a pronounced "dimorphism", i.e. a difference between male and female birds - not just in the appearance of the plumage, but in other, important properties, such as size or strength. Here we explain why.

Taxonomy, classification See Grey Goshawk at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Grey Goshawk is available HERE . Grey Goshawks are found in southern coastal New Guinea and in Australia. Grey Goshawks, nominate race "novaehollandiae", are found along the coastal fringe of Australia, from about Eighty Mile Beach in WA, along the Top End of the NT and all of Cape York peninsula, down the East coast and the South-East and South coast, to about Adelaide, SA. They occasionally venture into the hinterland of these coastal regions, up to a few hundred km inland. They are also found on islands along Bass Strait and in Tasmania. Grey Goshawks hunt mostly in and around dense, mostly coastal forests and heathland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "novaehollandiae" A Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", was first spotted by us at Munmorah SCA in June 2011. A Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", was also observed by A. Lines and C. Hayne in trees along farmland 10 km North-West of Moree, NSW, in May 2012. They were again spotted in the same location in June 2012 and seen by C. Hayne at Whittaker's Lagoon, 20 km West of Moree, in August 2012. Seen again by C. Hayne in various locations in north-western NSW in April 2013, e.g. at Biniguy, and again in July 2013, 10 km North-West of Moree, NSW. B. Hensen reports spotting Grey Goshawks, race "novaehollandiae", at Leanyer, Darwin, NT, in March 2013 and again in July 2013. P. Brown reports spotting a Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", in Nakara, Darwin, NT, in December 2015, and again in September 2017 and January 2018. M. Eaton reports spotting a Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", in Gatton, QLD, in July 2017, and at Lake Samsonvale, QLD, in January 2018. B. Hensen reports spotting a Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", at Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, in October 2017. R. Plumtree spotted a Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", at Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, in November 2017, and another at Great Otways NP, VIC, in September 2019. P. Brown reports spotting a white morphology Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in June 2018. A juvenile and a breeding pair of Grey Goshawks, race "novaehollandiae", were found by P. Brown and B. Hensen at the Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT, in June 2018. M. Eaton reports finding a Grey Goshawk, race "novaehollandiae", in Margate, Kingborough, TAS, in September 2021. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting Grey Goshawks, race "novaehollandiae", occasionally in the area of Cairns to Daintree, QLD. In August 2020, a pair was found nesting at the Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns, QLD.

Photos

Race "novaehollandiae"

Grey morphology

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Doctors Flat Road, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Grey Goshawk; note the striking reddish-brown irises (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Bunya Mountains NP, QLD, June 2017]

Close-up near-lateral/ventral view of a preening Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Close-up near-lateral/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Lateral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Bunya Mountains NP, QLD, June 2017]

Close-up lateral portrait of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Lateral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[Biniguy, NSW, April 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a Grey Goshawk looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Frontal view of a Grey Goshawk in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, October 2017]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Eastlakes Golf Course, Sydney, NSW, October 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk in flight
[Munmorah SCA, NSW, June 2011]

Ventral view of a Grey Goshawk in flight (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree, QLD, April 2020]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a sub-adult Grey Goshawk; the age was determined from the following two photos (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, January 2016]

Dorsal view of a sub-adult Grey Goshawk; here one can see the remaining barred juvenile outer tail feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, January 2016]

Dorsal view of a sub-adult Grey Goshawk; here one can see the remaining barred juvenile outer tail feathers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, January 2016]

Frontal view of a first-year Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, December 2015]

Lateral view of a first-year Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, December 2015]

Lateral/ventral view of a first-year Grey Goshawk; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 19 June 2020
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, June 2020]

Dorsal view of an immature Grey Goshawk with its tail fanned; the barring on the tail shows that this is a young bird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Samsonvale, QLD, January 2018]

First-year Grey Goshawk in flight seen from underneath (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[Near Moree, NSW, July 2013]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Grey Goshawk demanding to be fed; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 24 May 2018 (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Grey Goshawk demanding to be fed (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer, Darwin, NT, July 2013]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

White morphology

ADULT

MALE

Near-dorsal view of a male white Grey Goshawk; the sex was determined by comparing its size with the associated (grey morph) female (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT, June 2018]

Sex unknown

Frontal/ventral view of a white morphology Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margate, Kingborough, TAS, September 2021]

Near-frontal view of a Grey Goshawk with what looks like a deformed beak (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Great Otways NP, VIC, September 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margate, Kingborough, TAS, September 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a white Grey Goshawk looking over its shoulder (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a white Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, June 2018]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk looking over its shoulder (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margate, Kingborough, TAS, September 2021]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Grey Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margate, Kingborough, TAS, September 2021]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Apr - Nov

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 35-40(?) days

Fledging age: 40-45 days

Apart from weather conditions, the breeding season of Grey Goshawks depends on geographical latitude.

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female (& male)

Dependent care: Female & male

Twitcher's tip

Note that, by the time they fledge (i.e., leave their nest), the young of all species of raptors - apart from the tail and wing feathers (which are still growing) - are already full adult-size.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks, lined with green leaves

Height above ground: 20 - 30 m

Grey Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Grey Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Grey Goshawk nest under construction (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT, June 2018]

Female Grey Goshawk collecting nesting material; this is the female associated with the male white morph bird shown above (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT, June 2018]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 47 x 37 mm

Colour: Creamy, with light-brown patches

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Parrots and cockatoos can quite often be seen to pester raptors, but sometimes the roles are reversed and the raptors use flocks of other bird species to hide in before striking their prey.

White morphology Grey Goshawk masquerading as a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer, Darwin, NT, July 2018]

Food, Diet

Adults: Small mammals, birds, lizards

Dependents: As adults

Water intake: None

All raptors are carnivores.

During the first few weeks, raptors feed their chicks with pieces of meat. Later on in their development, the chicks learn to tear apart their parents' prey.

Dorsal view of a Grey Goshawk with its prey, most likely an immature Orange-footed Scrubfowl; the kill was made to feed its dependent young (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Botanic Gardens, Darwin, NT, May 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

ggoshwk_pb_20200529.m4a	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Adult & begging juvenile	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20200619.m4a	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Begging calls (first-year)	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20180524_1.m4a	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Begging calls (juvenile)	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20180524_2.m4a	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Begging calls (juvenile)	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20180524_3.m4a	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Begging calls (juvenile)	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20230813.mp3	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Various (adult & immature)	© PB
ggoshwk_pb_20230813_2.mp3	novaehollandiae (Darwin, NT)	Various (immature)	© PB

More Grey Goshawk sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 8 September 2023, 6:06 +00:00