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Red Goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus) Alternative name: "Rufous-bellied Buzzard" Size: 45-60 cm; wing span 1.1-1.35 m Body mass: 610-660 g (male); 1.1-1.4 kg (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.37

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red Goshawks are relatively small raptors. They have a highly cryptic plumage. The sexes look almost alike but females are much larger than males. The head is greyish, heavily streaked with bown and rufous tints. The nape of the neck of both sexes shows a small crest. The front is greyish-rufous, with dark-brown streaks, while the back is dark-brown with rufous edge-lining. The wing feathers are mostly barred mid- to dark-grey, with rufous lining. The tail is barred mid- to dark-grey; the upper legs are covered with rufous feathers. Males have a richer-rufous breast and a paler-grey head than females. The eyes have yellow irises, those of females being deeper orange-yellow than those of males, which are paler yellow. The bill of both sexes is dark-grey with a light-grey cere; the legs are yellow, with black talons. "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 Red 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 Red Goshawk is available HERE . Red Goshawks are endemic to the Australian continent. They are mostly found in tropical Australia, i.e. the Top End of the NT, but occasionally also farther inland, from the Kimberley, WA, through the northern part of the NT, along the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria, throughout Cape York peninsula in QLD, down to a line connecting roughly Derby, WA, with Mt. Isa, QLD and Emerald, QLD. From there, their (non-breeding?) range extends to the South, along the QLD/NSW East coast and adjacent Great Dividing Range. On the coast, they go as far as the Hunter Wetlands NP, Newcastle, NSW, while inland they are found to about Coolah Tops NP, near Coolah, NSW. Although they have a preference for near-coastal forest, they are also found farther inland, in drier sclerophyll forest and woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a nesting pair of Red Goshawks at Bitter Springs, Mataranka, NT, in August 2006. H. Mouritsen reports finding a nesting pair of Red Goshawks near Gunlom Falls, Mary River, Kakadu NP, NT, in October 2015. B. Hensen also found a Red Goshawk on its nest in Kakadu NP, NT, in July 2018. P. Brown reports spotting a Red Goshawk near its nest in Litchfield NP, NT, in October 2020. Another was spotted at the same location, again at its nest, in September 2021. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding Red Goshawks nesting at Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, near Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in September 2020. M. Eaton found a pair building a nest at the same location in June 2024.

Photos

ADULT

Birds shown below were sexed by comparing their sizes with their partner's. Females are larger than males.

MALE

Frontal view of a male Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Frontal view of a male Red Goshawk looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Frontal/ventral view of a male Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, September 2020]

Dorsal view of a male(?) Red Goshawk looking over its shoulder (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bitter Springs, Mataranka, NT, August 2006]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Litchfield NP, NT, September 2021]

Frontal view of a female(?) Red Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2018]

Frontal/ventral view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Frontal/ventral view of a female Red Goshawk looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Near-lateral view of a female Red Goshawk looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Litchfield NP, NT, September 2021]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Red Goshawk issuing its call (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Litchfield NP, NT, September 2021]

Lateral view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Lateral view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Lateral view of a female Red Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, September 2020]

Lateral view of a female Red Goshawk preening while on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, September 2020]

Lateral view of a female Red Goshawk returning to its nest after having been fed by its partner (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bitter Springs, Mataranka, NT, August 2006]

Lateral/ventral view of a female Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Dorsal view of a female Red Goshawk looking back at the observer while preening
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Dorsal view of a female Red Goshawk looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Dorsal view of a Red Goshawk looking over its shoulder; the dark colour of the irises indicates that this is a juvenile
(photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[Near Gunlom Falls, Mary River, Kakadu NP, NT, October 2015]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Red Goshawk (photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[Near Gunlom Falls, Mary River, Kakadu NP, NT, October 2015]

Juvenile Red Goshawk at its nest (photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[Near Gunlom Falls, Mary River, Kakadu NP, NT, October 2015]

Breeding information

Breeding season: May - Dec

Eggs: 1 - 2

Incubation period: 40-43 days

Fledging age: ca. 50 days

The breeding season of Red Goshawks depends on geographic latitude.

Nest building: Male

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

Observations by M. Eaton suggest that the male builds the nest under the female's supervision, with the female uttering squawking calls.

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.

For species of raptors with a pronounced size dimorphism between the sexes (the female is always bigger than the male), the obvious consequence is that a female near-fledging age chick already dwarfs not only any male siblings, but also its father.

Nest

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

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks, green leaves

Height above ground: >10? m

Note that, contrary to many other raptors' habits, Red Goshawks build their nests into live eucalypt trees, not dead ones.

Female Red Goshawk on its nest that the partner is still building
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Overview of a female Red Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, September 2020]

Overview of a female(?) Red Goshawk on its nest (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kakadu NP, NT, July 2018]

Overview of a juvenile Red Goshawk at its nest, which is characteristically placed in a major fork of a live eucalypt
(photo courtesy of H. Mouritsen)
[Near Gunlom Falls, Mary River, Kakadu NP, NT, October 2015]

Overview of the location of a Red Goshawk nest (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Litchfield NP, NT, September 2021]

Ventral view of a male Red Goshawk carrying nest material (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Ventral view of a male Red Goshawk carrying nest material (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Rinyirru (Lakefield) NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Eggs

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

Size: 54 x 43 mm

Colour: Creamy/whitish

Shape: Rounded

Food, Diet

Red Goshawks take primarily other birds.

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.

redgosh_me_20240610.m4a	(Far-N QLD)	Soliciting calls (female)	© ME
redgosh_pb_20210901.m4a	(Top End, NT)	Soliciting calls (female)	© PB

More Red 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.