Fiji Goshawk
Tachyspiza rufitorques
A small goshawk with pale grayish-blue wings and head and a peachy reddish collar, chest, and belly. Note the piercing orange eye and orange legs. Adaptable, occurring in most habitats with a forest component up to 1200 meters of elevation. No similar species occur in its range. Vocal, often giving a loud and piercing “ki…ki…ki.”
Identification
The Fiji goshawk ranges in size from 30–40 cm, making it medium-sized for its genus. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the females being larger than the males. It has long legs and a long tail. The plumage is unmistakable within its range, having a grey head, back, tail and wings and dull pink undersides and collar. The plumage of the juvenile is distinct from the adult, being all over brown with a highly streaked breast.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tachyspiza rufitorques
- Authority
- (Peale, 1849)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Tachyspiza
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Anthropoides paradiseus
A small, elegant, uniformly blue-gray crane that dwells in open habitats in pairs and variably sized groups. The bulbous head, plain face lacking any naked skin, and lack of contrast in the wings are distinctive. It is a resident and partial nomad in semi-desert, grassland, and cereal cropland. A staccato, bugling “kkk-kk-kk-kk-krraaak” call often first gives them away.
Sangihe Cicadabird
Edolisoma salvadorii
A thrush-sized gray songbird. Male is dark slaty-gray on the back and blackish below. Gray-backed female shows extensively barred pale underparts. Singles and pairs inhabit the canopy of forest and wooded patches in the lowlands and foothills. Confined to Sangihe and Talaud Islands. The voice is poorly known.
Yungas Pygmy-Owl
Glaucidium bolivianum
Small brown-and-white owl found in humid montane habitats. Variably reddish or grayish brown, with white spotting throughout and a black-and-white false eye pattern on the back of its head characteristic of pygmy-owls. Found in humid habitats at higher elevations than other pygmy-owls. Listen for its tooting song, usually given at a pace of about two toots per second.
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