Red-chested Goshawk
Encyclopedia
The Red-chested Goshawk (Accipiter toussenelii) is a hawk
of West Africa
. It is often considered conspecific with the African Goshawk
.
basin west to Gabon
and southern Cameroon
, and western (A. t. macroscelides and A. t. lopezi), found from western Cameroon west to Senegal
and on Bioko
. It inhabits
low-altitude forests, especially rainforest
s and dense second growth, often near rivers and swamps, including mangrove
s. It can also occur in plantation
s, parks, and big gardens. Apparently it does not migrate
or wander except possibly for dispersal of young.
The (rather indefinite) boundary with the African Goshawk
is in western Uganda
and the eastern and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo
.
, and legs are yellow to yellow-orange. In the eastern subspecies, adults have dark gray upperparts with lighter heads. The underparts are plain rufous and white. The tail is blackish with two or three big white patches. Juveniles are more or less unmarked blackish above and white below.
In the western subspecies, adults are also dark above, but have a grayish throat and barring mixed with rufous on the underparts. They have three white patches on the tail. Juveniles are blackish-brown above and white with heavy brown spotting below.
The most common call is a "ventriloquial rasping krit or sharper whit" given regularly every 2 or 3 seconds. It is given when the bird is perched, especially at dawn, and in flight, and is used as a contact call between mates, in courtship, and for territorial advertising. The male gives a "quieter tchuck or krit" when bringing food to the nest. Other softer, less harsh calls are heard around the nest, maybe particularly from the female.
s and freshwater crab
s. It takes more large insect
s than the African Goshawk, and also eats lizard
s, earthworms, and small mammal
s and bird
s. It hunts throughout the day, including dawn and dusk. Among its methods is waiting hidden in the forest canopy, often near an open space such as a trail or a body of water. It also flies quickly from tree to tree looking for prey that it can swoop down on or snatch, and flies beside lines of dense vegetation to surprise prey by flying through.
with the African Goshawk because the groups intergrade and vary widely within themselves and separated populations resemble each other. The Red-chested Goshawk is treated here as a separate species following the Handbook of the Birds of the World
and other authorities.
in the hope of encouraging him to move toward serious studies of natural history
.
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. It is often considered conspecific with the African Goshawk
African Goshawk
The African Goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.As defined here following the Handbook of the Birds of the World, it is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,...
.
Range and habitat
It may be divided into two subspecies groups: eastern (A. t. toussenelii and A. t. canescens), found from the CongoCongo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
basin west to Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
and southern Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, and western (A. t. macroscelides and A. t. lopezi), found from western Cameroon west to Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and on Bioko
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
. It inhabits
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
low-altitude forests, especially rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s and dense second growth, often near rivers and swamps, including mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s. It can also occur in plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s, parks, and big gardens. Apparently it does not migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
or wander except possibly for dispersal of young.
The (rather indefinite) boundary with the African Goshawk
African Goshawk
The African Goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.As defined here following the Handbook of the Birds of the World, it is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,...
is in western Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and the eastern and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
Description
Its wingspan is 18.4 to 20.3 cm (7.2 to 8.0 inches) in males, 20.4 to 24.3 cm (8.0 to 9.6 inches) in females. The length is about 3/5 of the wingspan. Males weigh 150 to 235 grams, females 170 to 265 grams. Though females of all birds of prey are bigger than males, this difference is much greater than usual. Adults' eyes, cereCère
The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...
, and legs are yellow to yellow-orange. In the eastern subspecies, adults have dark gray upperparts with lighter heads. The underparts are plain rufous and white. The tail is blackish with two or three big white patches. Juveniles are more or less unmarked blackish above and white below.
In the western subspecies, adults are also dark above, but have a grayish throat and barring mixed with rufous on the underparts. They have three white patches on the tail. Juveniles are blackish-brown above and white with heavy brown spotting below.
The most common call is a "ventriloquial rasping krit or sharper whit" given regularly every 2 or 3 seconds. It is given when the bird is perched, especially at dawn, and in flight, and is used as a contact call between mates, in courtship, and for territorial advertising. The male gives a "quieter tchuck or krit" when bringing food to the nest. Other softer, less harsh calls are heard around the nest, maybe particularly from the female.
Reproduction
The breeding season begins in July or August and ends in February. Unlike the African Goshawk, this species is said to perform flight displays only rarely. The nest is placed 6 to 20 meters above the ground in the main fork or on a side branch of a large tree, hidden by leaves or vines. It is built of sticks, 40 to cm across and 15 to 45 cm deep, with a lining of fresh leaves. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs (less often 1 or 4). As in most Accipitridae, the female incubates and cares for the young while the male supplies the food, with the female doing some of the hunting after the young are half-grown. Incubation lasts some 4 or 5 weeks, and the young fledge in 32 to 36 days. Juveniles probably molt directly into adult plumage when a little over one year old.Feeding
This species' main foods are frogFrog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s and freshwater crab
Freshwater crab
There are around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs, distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs which release thousands of planktonic larvae. This limits...
s. It takes more large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s than the African Goshawk, and also eats lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, earthworms, and small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. It hunts throughout the day, including dawn and dusk. Among its methods is waiting hidden in the forest canopy, often near an open space such as a trail or a body of water. It also flies quickly from tree to tree looking for prey that it can swoop down on or snatch, and flies beside lines of dense vegetation to surprise prey by flying through.
Conservation status
This species is probably declining because of habitat loss but is fairly adaptable and is probably still common.Classification
The two subspecies groups may be considered separate species, in which case the western one is called Accipiter macroscelides, the West African Goshawk. More commonly, though, the present species is lumpedLumpers and splitters
Lumping and splitting refers to a well-known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories. The lumper/splitter problem occurs when there is the need to create classifications and assign examples to them, for example schools of literature,...
with the African Goshawk because the groups intergrade and vary widely within themselves and separated populations resemble each other. The Red-chested Goshawk is treated here as a separate species following the Handbook of the Birds of the World
Handbook of the Birds of the World
The Handbook of the Birds of the World is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series is edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A Christie.So far, 15...
and other authorities.
Etymology
Des Murs and Verreaux named this species after Alphonse ToussenelAlphonse Toussenel
Alphonse Toussenel was a French writer and journalist born in Montreuil-Bellay, a small meadows commune of Angers; he died in Paris on April 30, 1885....
in the hope of encouraging him to move toward serious studies of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
.