Red Goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus
Length 45–60 cm; wingspan 110–135 cm; weight 640 g (male), 1100 g (female).
Generally solitary and secretive, the Red Goshawk is generally silent as its concealed perch among the foliage of trees in wait for prey. It mainly eats other birds (including nestlings), but also occasionally lizards, mammals and insects. Its preferred method of attack is to glide directly from its perch to take prey from the ground, nests, from perches or in the air. It occurs in a variety of tropical wooded habitats, often along the courses of rivers, or at the boundary between different habitats. It is usually seen soaring or gliding, but the Red Goshawk’s active flight is fast and direct, with bursts of rapid flaps interspersed with glides, while its direct flight is more laboured and crow-like with sustained flapping.
HABITAT
The Red Goshawk inhabits a variety of woodlands and forests, especially where there is a mosaic of forest types, or at the boundary between vegetation types, particularly along rivers. Usually avoiding dense forests, they occur in or at the edges of eucalypt forests or woodlands, rainforests, riverine or gallery forests, and melaleuca swamp forests.
DISTRIBUTION
Endemic to coastal and subcoastal parts of tropical and sub-tropical Australia, though there have also been some recent records from much farther from the coast, well inland.
STATUS
- Endangered in New South Wales
- Endangered in Queensland
- Vulnerable in the Northern Territory
- Rare or likely to become extinct in Western Australia
- Vulnerable in EPBC Act
THREATS
The species is particularly threatened by the widespread clearance of its lowland and riverine forest and woodland habitats to make way for agriculture, forestry operations or settlement.
MOVEMENTS
Though the movements of the Red Goshawk are poorly known, the species is generally considered sedentary, especially in northern Australia, but in southern parts of its range, the species may move from the ranges into lowland habitats in winter. |
|
|
|
|
