Gray-headed Goshawk
Tachyspiza poliocephala
An Inconspicuous, mid-sized raptor of the lowland and foothill forest interior. Dark eye, dark gray back, pale gray head and whitish belly, although a rare, dark-bellied form also occurs. Scans the forest floor from the mid-story for reptiles and insects. Orange facial skin and legs make it unmistakable in its range. Call, a high pitched “wi-ki-ki!” or longer series, sometimes given while stretching its wings straight up above its back, in display.
Identification
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.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tachyspiza poliocephala
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1858
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Tachyspiza
Range 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.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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