Food
Mainly small birds and insects, such as grasshoppers, cicadas and beetles.
Voice
A slow, high-pitched, piercing 'kieek kieek kieek kieek', by male, while female has a similar but slower, more drawn out and mellow, 'kuuwieek kuuweik kuuweik'.
Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae) [XC336306]
by Marc Anderson from Nombinnie Nature Reserve, New South Wales, Australia (call)
Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae) [XC823333]
by id from Charles Darwin University, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Varies but mainly April - November.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
A large structure of sticks, lined with leaves, usually placed among the topmost branches of a tall tree.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4, usually 3; smooth, usually lustreless white with occasional blue to green tinge, or with red to purple-brown markings; oval; about 48 x 40 mm. Incubation: about 35 days; apparently by female only. Usually only one brood per season.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 5 - 6 weeks.
Subspecies
Island subspecies sometimes regarded as a distinct species, Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster). Moluccan griseogularis, obiensis and mortyi sometimes treated as a separate species, Accipiter griseogularis.
Subspecies natalis of Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) may belong to Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae).
The following 23 subspecies are recognised:
sylvestris Wallace, 1864 - Lesser Sundas. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Lesser Sundas Goshawk (Accipiter sylvestris).
polionotus (Salvadori, 1890) - Banda I (Moluccas), Tanimbar Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
albiventris (Salvadori, 1875) - Tayandu I (Moluccas), Kai Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
obiensis (Hartert, 1903) - Obi (central Moluccas). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
griseogularis (G. R. Gray, 1860) - Northern Moluccas. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
mortyi Hartert, 1925 - Morotai (northern Moluccas). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
hiogaster (S. Müller, 1841) - Moluccas to New Guinea and Solomon Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
pallidiceps (Salvadori, 1879) - Buru (southern Moluccas). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
leucosomus (Sharpe, 1874) - New Guinea. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
pallidimas Mayr, 1940 - D'Entrecasteaux Is (New Guinea). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
manusi Mayr, 1945 - Admiralty Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
bougainvillei (Rothschild and Hartert, 1905) - Bougainville (northern Solomons). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
rufoschistaceus (Rothschild and Hartert, 1902) - Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Florida Is (central Solomon Is). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
rubianae (Rothschild and Hartert, 1905) - Central Solomon Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
pulchellus (Ramsay, 1881) - Guadalcanal (south-western Solomon Is). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
malaitae Mayr, 1931 - Malaita (south-eastern Solomon Is). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
misulae Mayr, 1940 - Louisiade Is (New Guinea). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
misoriensis (Salvadori, 1875) - Biak I. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
dampieri (Gurney, 1882) - New Britain. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
lavongai Mayr, 1945 - New Hanover and New Ireland (Bismarck Archipelago). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
lihirensis Stresemann, 1933 - Lihir and Tanga Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
matthiae Mayr, 1945 - St Matthias I (Bismarck Archipelago). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Variable Goshawk (Accipiter hiogaster).
novaehollandiae (Gmelin, 1788) - Northern & eastern Australia and Tasmania.
Similar Species
Grey Falcon (Falco hypoleucos)
Smaller. Has more pointed, dark tipped wings.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
(13Kb) © ? (
BirdLife International Species Factsheet