Erythrotriorchis buergersi
Red goshawks are solid-bodied birds with long, thick yellow legs and feet with a very long middle toe and large talons. When perched, red goshawks have an upright stance, with long broad wings reaching just short of the tail tip, a short spiky head crest and high, broad shoulders. The back and upper wings are a rich rufous colour with a darker bold scalloping pattern. Chest and undercarriage colouring in males and juveniles is a light rufous with heavy dark vertical streaks on the head and throat. In females these parts are much paler in colour. Adults have rufous plumage on the upper legs (“trousers”) without markings. Tail feathers are grey to silver-white with seven or eight dark narrow horizontal bars. Their tails are square in shape when closed and a rounded shape when fanned during soaring. The bill is black, fading to grey at its base, and the eyes are generally yellow to yellow-brown but can be brown to hazel in males. Juveniles are distinguishable from adults by their rufous head and cream to pale grey legs. In the field, red goshawks are often misidentified as other raptors, especially those that have reddish plumage as adults or juveniles (for example the square-tailed kite Lophoictinia isura, black-breasted buzzard Hamirostra melanosternon, little eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides and brown falcon Falco berigora). The red goshawk can be distinguished from these other raptors by their very large yellow legs and feet, long tail, conspicuous dark barred primary feathers, secondary feathers and tail, and long wings with six outer primary wing feathers (“fingers”) — other goshawks have shorter fivefingered wings. In addition, wings are held at a slight dihedral angle when soaring and flat to slightly bowed when gliding.
Data deficient
Red goshawks are solid-bodied birds with long, thick yellow legs and feet with a very long middle toe and large talons. When perched, red goshawks have an upright stance, with long broad wings reaching just short of the tail tip, a short spiky head crest and high, broad shoulders. The back and upper wings are a rich rufous colour with a darker bold scalloping pattern. Chest and undercarriage colouring in males and juveniles is a light rufous with heavy dark vertical streaks on the head and throat. In females these parts are much paler in colour. Adults have rufous plumage on the upper legs (“trousers”) without markings. Tail feathers are grey to silver-white with seven or eight dark narrow horizontal bars. Their tails are square in shape when closed and a rounded shape when fanned during soaring. The bill is black, fading to grey at its base, and the eyes are generally yellow to yellow-brown but can be brown to hazel in males. Juveniles are distinguishable from adults by their rufous head and cream to pale grey legs. In the field, red goshawks are often misidentified as other raptors, especially those that have reddish plumage as adults or juveniles (for example the square-tailed kite Lophoictinia isura, black-breasted buzzard Hamirostra melanosternon, little eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides and brown falcon Falco berigora). The red goshawk can be distinguished from these other raptors by their very large yellow legs and feet, long tail, conspicuous dark barred primary feathers, secondary feathers and tail, and long wings with six outer primary wing feathers (“fingers”) — other goshawks have shorter fivefingered wings. In addition, wings are held at a slight dihedral angle when soaring and flat to slightly bowed when gliding.
The body length of the male red goshawk from beak to tail tip is 45 to 51cm, with a weight of around 0.64kg. Like many raptors, female red goshawks are much larger, with a body length of 58 to 61cm and a weight of about 1.1kg. Their wingspan ranges from 110 to 135cm.
Taxonomy:
- Astur bürgersi Reichenow, 1914, Augusta River, Mäanderberg, New Guinea. Formerly placed in superficially similar genus Accipiter, but now considered closely related to E. radiatus and to form part of old endemic Australasian clade (see page 55). Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Distribution:
- N & E New Guinea.
Red goshawks occupy a range of habitats, often at ecotones, including coastal and sub-coastal tall open forest, tropical savannahs crossed by wooded or forested watercourses, woodlands, the edges of rainforest and gallery forests along watercourses, and wetlands that include Melaleuca and Casuarina species.
Prey largely consists of medium to large birds, although mammals, reptiles and large insects are also consumed. There is no evidence that red goshawks eat carrion.
The breeding season of the red goshawk in the north of its range is from May to November during the dry season, while in the cooler southern parts of its range the breeding season is from around August to November. Red goshawks lay one or two bluish-white, oval-shaped eggs that are around 5.5cm by 4.4cm in size. The male hunts to provide food for the female while she incubates the eggs for 39 to 42 days. When the chicks hatch, the male continues to feed the female and also provides food for the female to feed the chicks. The female resumes hunting around the time the young develop feathers. Usually only one young survives to fledge. Birds are fledged in seven to eight weeks but are not independent for at least ten weeks. Some may remain dependent on their parents until seven months of age.