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Northern Goshawk

Accipiter gentilisOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)
Northern Goshawk Head

Head

  • Bill Shape: Hooked
  • Eye Color: Initially greenish gray, turning pale yellow. Bright yellow throughout first year, progressively becoming orange during second year. Adult iris dark red to mahogany.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Capped, Striped, Streaked
  • Crown Color: Blue-gray with white eyebrow.
  • Forehead Color: Pale with dark streaking.
  • Nape Color: Blue-gray
  • Throat Color: Pale gray with fine dark streaking.
  • Cere color: Yellow
Northern Goshawk Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 48-69 cm (19-27 in)
  • Weight: 907 g (32 oz)
  • Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
  • Color: White, Black, Gray
  • Underparts: Pale Gray
  • Upperparts: Blue-gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Breast Pattern: Barred or banded
Northern Goshawk Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Soars on thermals.
  • Wingspan Range: 102-119 cm (40-47 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Weak gray bars.
  • Upper Tail: Pale gray with darker bands.
  • Under Tail: Pale gray with darker bands.
  • Leg Color: Yellow
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Family Hawk (Accipitridae)_blue
Species Accipiter gentilis
Length19 - 27 Inches
Wingspan43.5 Inches

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk: Large hawk with slate blue-gray to nearly black upperparts and very finely barred and streaked pale gray underparts. Head is dark with thick, white eyebrows and red eyes. Tail is paler gray with three or four dark bands. Alternates rapid wing beats with glides, soars on thermals.

● Song: "ca-ca-ca"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Goshawk: Eats birds, mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates: takes relatively large prey, weighing up to one-half as much as itself.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Goshawk: Three or four brown spotted, white to blue eggs are laid in a nest made of dead twigs, lined with leafy green twigs, conifer needles, and pieces of bark, and built in a large tree. Incubation ranges from 36 to 41 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Northern Goshawk: Juvenile Cooper's Hawk is much smaller with longer tail and less distinctly streaked underparts. Sharp-shinned Hawk is much smaller, with shorter, squared-off tail, and shorter head-neck profile that does not project as far when flying.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals.
Northern Goshawk Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Northern Goshawk: Found in much of the northern hemisphere, from near the timber line in the north to as far south as sub-tropical regions; northern birds migrate during winter. Preferred habitats include dense coniferous and deciduous forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon to rare
MigrationMigratory
Weight32 Ounces