Black-mantled Goshawk (Accipiter melanochlamys)

Black-mantled Goshawk

[order] ACCIPITRIFORMES | [family] Accipitridae | [latin] Accipiter melanochlamys | [authority] Salvadori, 1875 | [UK] Black-mantled Goshawk | [FR] Autour a manteau noir | [DE] Schwarzmantel-Habicht | [ES] Gavilan rufinegro | [NL] Zwartrughavik

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

Members of the genus Accipiter are small and medium-sized hawks, often called Sparrow-hawks or Goshawks. The females are almost invariably much larger than the males – in some cases weighing twice as much – a level of size dimorphism only exceptionally reached in any other genus Falconiformes. Their wings are short and rounded; the tail usually quite long. They are well adapted for flying through dense bush. Bird-catching Sparrow-hawks generally have long and slender legs, with slender digits, the middle one being especially long. Goshawks are usually larger, with shorter, thicker tarsi and digits and a shorter middle digit. Some smaller species have goshawk-like feet and vice versa, making it difficult on a world-wide basis to subdivide the genus on this or any other broad basis. Although many accipiters feed upon birds moreso than do other hawks, some species take many mammals, especially squirrels; others take lizards, frogs, snakes, insects, even snails. In these species the legs and digits are sometimes slender, but short. Accipiters are rarely crested, but some have very attractive colour patterns. Black phases are present, especially in the tropical species. One in Australia has the only pure white phase. Accipiter is the largest genus in the family, having about fifty species. It is present worldwide, but is especially rich in Papua-New Guinea, where a small island like New Britain may have three to five endemic species or distinct sub-species.

Physical charateristics

Female is larger than male. Adult with strong black and chestnut plumage, broad chestnut collar. Juveniles very much like young congeners, mottled brown but paler underparts.


wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 30 cm size max.: 43 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 0   eggs min.: 0  
      eggs max.: 0  

Range

Australasia : New Guinea

Habitat

Prefers montane forest, usually within forest, but also at forest edges and in adjacent gardens; it also soars over forest

Reproduction

the nest is built in tall trees, including Pandanus, within the forest. No further data on display, eggs, incubation nor (post)fledging

Feeding habits

Feeds on small mammals, bird, frogs, and insects. It pursues the pigeon Gymnophaps albertsii in the forest, at the forest edge, and in the air.

Conservation

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be small, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Two poorly defined races, doubtfully valid and not recognized by some authorities: eastern birds paler dorsally; differences possibly confounded by sexual characters or plumage wear of specimens
Black-mantled Goshawk status Least Concern

Migration

Non-migratory, but juveniles disperse from breeding areas

Distribution map

Black-mantled Goshawk distribution range map

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