Goshawk

The Goshawk is classified as the Accipter Gentilis in the family of Accipitridae. These birds inhabit the northern hemisphere and are known as Northern Goshawk in Northern America. These birds have short broad wings and have a long tail. The males have a blue grey colour on the above and grey in colour at the bottom. These birds are 49 centimetres to 57 centimetres in size and have a wingspan of 93 to 105 centimetres. The females are 62 centimetres and are much larger in size compared to their male counterparts. The females have a wingspan of 108 to 127 centimetres and they are slate grey coloured on the above and grey below. The males weigh as low as 630 grams while the female can weigh as much as 2 kg. The young ones have a brown colour on the above and below. These birds hunt for birds and mammals and they feed on large birds, especially on the ruffed grouse, pigeons, doves, starlings and crows. They are also found to feed on ducks, snowshoe hares, jack rabbits, wood pigeons, pheasants and on Kestrels. Both the sexes of these birds have striped underparts and also have a striped grey coloured tail. These birds have broad whitish eyebrows and have piercing orange-yellow eyes which make them evil looking. The cere colour of these birds is greenish yellow in colour and the legs of these birds are found to be yellow in colour. The male is smaller than the females and their male counterparts have a dark patch beneath the eye while it is browner in colour in the females than their male counterparts. This is one of the heaviest birds under the genus Accipiter. The nests of these birds are found high up on the trees and these are made by their male counterpart. The nest of these birds consists of twigs that are lined with barks. The eggs of these birds are in the size of 59 mm by 44mm and are palish bluish white in colour. The incubation of these eggs is done by the females only. Both the sexes-the male and the female feed the young ones as they are hatched though it is usually seen that the young ones are fed by the females while the male ones go in search of food and brings them to their nests. The breeding season for these birds start during the month of April and the number of eggs produced during their breeding period range from 1 to 5 and the incubation period for these eggs lies between 35 to 38 days while the fledge days for the younger breeds lasts from 35 to 40 days. The Goshawk is considered as one of the victimised birds of the prey. Britain did witness the extinction of these birds during the 19th century. Today the Goshawk population is mainly concentrated in the Kielder Forest region in Northumberland. The Goshawks are not quite migratory and are often seen to be sedentary.