A merciless predator with an evil look and deadly claws - this is how experts on the Eurasian avifauna will characterize the goshawk and they will be absolutely right. For a dove, hazel grouse or a hare, a meeting with a feathered hunter in most cases ends fatally: often the victim dies before he has time to figure out who attacked him.
Such is the goshawk - the most famous well-studied representative of the hawk family and the genus of true hawks.
Predators are of interest to hunters, who have long used them as birds of prey. A photo of a goshawk is a chance to replenish the piggy bank of valuable shots for every wildlife photographer. And pigeon breeders, who are interested in the well-being of their pets, know the enemy by sight, and can tell about the habits of the goshawk better than ornithologists.
Goshawk on a branch, rear view. 
Goshawk in flight. 
What does a goshawk look like
The goshawk is the largest hawk. Outwardly, he strongly resembles his closest relative - a small hawk or sparrowhawk, but one and a half times larger than him. Another distinguishing feature of the large hawk (as the goshawk was called in the literature of past years) is the very wide white "eyebrows" that smoothly go around the head and almost join at the back of the head.
Despite the slenderness inherent in hawks, the goshawk is distinguished by a strong, dense build and a characteristic majestic posture. Predators have a small head, long legs with lush feather "pants", short wings and a long tail.
Like all hawks, female goshawks are larger than males. The height of the female is about 61 cm with a body weight of 860 to 1600 g. Males grow up to 55 cm in length and weigh 630-1100 g. Heavier and larger females are more often used for hunting hares and black grouse, males are trained to get small game.
Goshawk in flight, photo in the suburbs of Vladivostok. 
Hawk goshawk in the forest. 
The color of the plumage of the goshawk
Birds older than a year are almost the same color, but females are usually darker than males. The general color of the plumage of the upper body is from dark gray to gray-brown. The head is darker than the body, in some specimens it is almost black or brown with white streaks.
The throat, chest and belly are lighter with well-defined transverse ripples, characteristic of all hawks. The tail is light gray above, with 3-5 dark bands. The undertail is fluffy, pure white, clearly visible in flight.
The legs and long toes of the goshawk are yellow, the claws are black. The beak is brown with a blue tint, the cere is bright yellow. Eye color of adult birds is yellow, orange or reddish.
Young goshawks are distinguished by the brown-brown plumage of the upper body, light transverse stripes on the wings and tail, and a white breast with longitudinal stripes. On the wings of young birds, buffy or white edges of feathers and light streaks are clearly visible. The cere of young individuals is grayish-yellow or gray, the iris is light yellow.
Goshawk in flight. 
Goshawk in flight. 
Goshawk. 
Goshawk in flight. 
How to distinguish a goshawk from other hawks
An uninitiated person may confuse a flying male goshawk with a large female sparrowhawk. However, in sparrow hawks, the tail seems to be evenly cut off and often fanned out, and goshawks have a tail rounded at the end with a very wide base and rarely fluff it.
Young female goshawks of an ocher-brown color are sometimes confused with buzzards, but the latter have a shorter tail, and, on the contrary, longer wings.
Another very similar close relative is the honey buzzard, in contrast to which the wings of the goshawk are much wider and shorter.
On a vast range, goshawks of various populations have characteristic differences.
Goshawk in winter. 
Goshawk after a meal. 
A fledgling of a goshawk (female) with a flying squirrel, which was caught by a mother who was successful in hunting. 
Where does the goshawk live
The area of distribution of predators covers most of Eurasia and North America. In Africa, goshawks are found only in Morocco.
To date, 10 subspecies of goshawk have been described, among which A.g. gentilis. These are birds with characteristic external features of the species, living in Northern and Central Europe.
To the south live predators of the subspecies A. g. marginatus. Just they live in Morocco, south of Spain and east to the Caucasus Mountains. These birds are smaller than the type subspecies and darker colored.
A very similar subspecies is A. g. schvedowi, whose representatives are distributed in East Asia to Japan.
Rather large goshawks subspecies A. g. buteoides live in the north of the range to Sweden and in the east to taiga Siberia. Young specimens of the subspecies are especially brightly colored.
The largest predators of the subspecies A. g. albidus are distributed in the northeast of Siberia to the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
The inhabitants of Corsica and Sardinia may not suspect that the darkest-colored goshawks of the subspecies A. g. live on their islands. arrigoni.
The smallest and very dark goshawk is endemic to the Japanese island of Honshu, the birds are classified as subspecies A. g. fujiyamae.
The typical North American subspecies of the goshawk is A. g. atricapillus with bluish-gray plumage and a very dark head. A slightly darker subspecies is A. g. laingi lives in the west and northwest of Canada.
In the mountains, on the border of the USA and Mexico, representatives of the subspecies A. g. apache, whose plumage color is lighter than that of typical North Americans.
Goshawk, bird close-up portrait. 
Goshawk, bird portrait. 
Goshawk, bird portrait. 
Goshawk Lifestyle
In most of the range, predators live sedentary. The exception is the population of the extreme northern regions of North America, from where birds migrate south in winter. Populations living in the north of Europe migrate south of nesting sites in cold winters.
The favorite biotopes of the goshawk are coniferous and deciduous forests, mountainous regions, less often the forest-tundra zone and forest-steppes. These predators are strongly attached to their individual territories, where they spend their entire lives. The territories of males are larger than those of females and often the personal territories of birds intersect with each other.
Despite the hostile attitude of farmers and pigeon breeders, the number of feathered hunters is increasing, therefore, in many parts of the range, young individuals are forced to settle and feed in the forest park zone of settlements.
The goshawk is a typical diurnal predator, which, even when satiated, continues to hunt a wide variety of game.
What does the goshawk eat
Goshawks do not hover like eagles, kites, or buzzards. With short wings and a long tail, the great hawk is excellent at maneuvering through trees, looking for prey in low flight above the ground. Predators strictly adhere to personal feeding areas and do not tolerate their own kind "away". The hunting grounds of an adult goshawk cover an area of about 35 km2.
The old Russian name of the bird - "dovecote hawk" aptly characterizes the gastronomic preferences of the predator. The lion's share of its diet is made up of birds of small and medium sizes: pigeons, crows, starlings, magpies, thrushes, jays and other bird species.
A strong and fast predator often catches large birds, no smaller than himself. These are ducks, partridges, black grouse, capercaillie and a rare, endangered species of grouse - wild grouse. For this reason, connoisseurs of hunting with a gun do not like goshawks, because in places of high density of predators game can completely disappear.
But as a hunting bird, the predator has no equal: in Asia, goshawks are used even when hunting ungulates. Their task is to “slow down” the antelope so that the pack of dogs catches up with the animal.
In addition to birds, the goshawk catches squirrels and other small rodents, but gives particular preference to rabbits and hares, their number on the menu increases with the onset of winter. Large insects are also included in the diet of a predator; he will not miss a lizard and a snake.
Noticing the prey, the goshawk rushes down with lightning speed from a short distance and plunges deadly claws into the body of the victim, piercing through the vital organs. It eats small prey on the spot, carries large prey to a secluded place and tears it apart there.
For a farmer or a pigeon breeder, a predator becomes a real misfortune. The attack of the goshawk is so swift that the owner who jumped out to the cries of birds sees only a handful of feathers.
During the period of feeding the chicks, male goshawks hunt especially intensively, and together with the brood, the pair produces 300-400 individuals of various bird species during the season.
Goshawk on a branch in winter. 
Goshawk on a branch. 
Goshawk in flight. 
Reproduction features
Goshawks create a pair at the age of 2 years, but only breed after a year. Ceremonial air dances with a joint flight over the nesting territory always open the mating season. At this time, you can hear the voice of the goshawk - the vibrating sounds "kiyayayaya ...", males are more sonorous, females are deaf and low.
The couple start building the nest when the snow has not yet melted, 2 months before the eggs are laid. Unlike sparrowhawks, who build a new nest every year not far from the previous one, goshawks use the old one for several years in a row. On occasion, they willingly occupy someone else's empty nest of a suitable size.
If you want to get a photo of a goshawk in the nest, you should look for an old forest in the immediate vicinity of open areas suitable for hunting predators - fields, swamps or roads. The nesting territory of the pair occupies from 570 to 3500 hectares and, interestingly, in the immediate vicinity of their own nest, goshawks tolerate only nesting sparrowhawks. From the encroachments of other competitors, the nesting site of the couple desperately protects.
Also, like the sparrowhawk, the nest is located high above the ground and close to the tree trunk. To build a nest, birds use dry branches and always young shoots of deciduous and coniferous trees, weave the bark into the bowl.
The nest of "newlywed" goshawks, built from scratch, usually does not exceed 60 cm in diameter and barely reaches half a meter in thickness. Repeatedly built-on nest of a couple with experience - a structure up to 1.5 m in diameter and more than a meter high. In April - early May, female goshawks lay their eggs.
Breeding
In the clutch there are from 2 to 4 rough, white with blue speckled eggs, laid at intervals of 2-3 days. The female incubates tightly, the male replaces her for the time of feeding. After 28-38 days, the chicks hatch and for another 3 weeks the female inseparably takes care of the offspring.
For normal growth and development, one chick needs at least 150 g of feed per day. For the entire period of feeding, the male brings a brood of three chicks about 20 kg of meat. The female helps the chicks by tearing the prey to pieces and after 10 days half-decomposed remains of birds accumulate in the nest.
Since that time, in addition to obtaining food, the male has to take care of a sanitary nature. Scientists have long noticed that many raptors - golden eagles, buzzards and hawks bring green branches to the nest, covering them with the remnants of the chicks' meal. On the day, the male goshawk brings to the tray at least 5 branches of conifers or aspen, which have pronounced phytoncidal properties. There is an assumption that simple disinfection prevents the spread of bacteria from the decay products of decaying organic matter.
The fledgling of the goshawk develops the territory outside the nest. 
The fledgling of the goshawk does "exercises". 
Goshawk chick training wings - soon to adulthood. 
At the age of 35 days, the chicks get out of the nest and sit on neighboring branches. After 10 days, young goshawks are able to fly, but for another month they feed at the expense of their parents. Like most hawks, goshawks live from 12 to 17 years.
The hawk is a bird of prey. For a long time, the hawk suffered from persecution by man because of his hunting for birds. In addition to thrushes and jays, doves, partridges and pheasants also became prey for the hawk, and humans also hunt them. The same applies to mammals, among them are not only squirrels, but also hares with rabbits, that is, game. Therefore, the hawk was considered a pest, and any hunter tried to shoot him. At the same time, no one realized that pigeons, partridges or pheasants were becoming rarer not because of hawks, but because their habitat was being disturbed. Today, the hawk and other predators have been left alone. Now the number of these birds in Central Europe is gradually increasing, although not as fast as we would like.
The hawk lives in the forest and makes its nest in a tree. Tries to pick a taller tree. This is the center of his hunting or, as ornithologists say, feeding area. This area is large for hawks - 100 - 150 square kilometers.
Hawks are fierce predators. Falling from a height at high speed, they inflict mortal wounds with their sharp claws on the victim.
The male cannot do this. If the female dies, he will still carry food to the chicks and throw them into the nest. And it will do this even when the chicks die of hunger (after all, they are not able to eat prey on their own).
Hawks have bright yellow eyes. In chicks (and not only hawks) - always black. Eyes - a signal: I want to eat! If the chick is full, he turns his back to his mother. Black beads are not visible, and for the parent this is a signal - that's enough, you can stop feeding!
All this applies to the small hawk, a smaller copy of the big one. He is also a forest dweller, but prefers to settle on the edges, in river valleys. The nest is also made on a tree, but unlike the large one, which uses the nest year after year, each time it builds a new one, close to the old one. Since it is much smaller, then its prey are smaller animals. (Quail or partridge is the limit.) And the feeding area is three to four times smaller.
No matter how big the hawks are, they feed exclusively on birds and mammals. The size of prey depends only on the size of the bird.
The genus of hawks includes 47 species, among which the most typical representative is a large hawk, or goshawk (Accepiter gentills).
The goshawk is distributed throughout the globe, except for the Arctic. But in general, he is not very afraid of the cold, as well as the heat. Yes, in fact, there is never heat in the forest, and from especially cold lands for the winter he flies to Asia (if he lives in the Eastern Hemisphere) and to Mexico (if he lives in the Western Hemisphere). It does not fly from other places. Avoids large forests. Leads a sedentary lifestyle.
Strong diurnal bird of prey. The female is noticeably larger than the male. Its wingspan is up to 125 cm. The wingspan of the male is about 105 cm. The total length of the bird is 52 - 68 cm, weight 0.7 - 1.5 kg. Adult birds are dark gray above and light gray with dark gray transverse streaks on the chest and belly. Young birds are brownish above, the chest is light buffy with dark longitudinal streaks.
Relatively short and wide wings and a long tail allow the hawk to maneuver well in flight. Females are more likely to take large prey. They feed mainly on birds and rodents. The goshawk is not picky: a tiny kinglet or a wren will catch it, a dove, a pheasant - well. Black grouse - will cope with it. The robber is real.
The hawk needs varied, sheltered landscapes. Nests are always located on tall trees. Since ancient times, the goshawk has been used as a stalker for hunting game birds.
Sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus) is represented by 6 subspecies. A medium-sized predator with a body length of 28-38 cm, with a wingspan of about 65 cm in males; in females - up to 80 cm. The wings are rounded, the tail is long. A wavy flight path is characteristic. The plumage of the sparrow hawk is black with transverse white stripes on the ventral side. The Sparrowhawk is a good hunter.
It lives in most of the territory of Eurasia - from Western Europe and North Africa east to the Pacific Ocean. In Europe, the main habitats are Scandinavia and Russia.
The Sparrowhawk needs a varied landscape with lots of small birds. The basis of its diet is made up of birds the size of a thrush and smaller. Sparrowhawks ambush their prey. They fly well, run on the ground and swim in the water, besides, they have excellent hearing, so it is often impossible to hide from the hawk.
Sparrowhawk is the main enemy of forest birdies. This is a real ace: rounded wings allow him to easily maneuver through the trees, chasing prey. The hawk has strong paws, on the fingers of which there are sharp claws.
They usually nest on coniferous trees, more often on spruces. Nests are lined from the inside with soft moss and foliage. The birds build a new nest every year. The clutch contains 5-7 eggs, which are always incubated by the female for 1 month. When the chicks hatch, their loud piercing squeak becomes audible from the nest. This means they are hungry. Then both parents start looking for food for their chicks.
The main food of the sparrow hawk is birds and small mammals, although it often preys on amphibians and reptiles.
In the Crimea and the Caucasus, autumn hunting with hunting sparrowhawks for migratory quails has long been practiced (hence the name of the species). Hawks are also captured in the fall, tamed and trained for a few days, used during the fall hunting season, and generally released.
Slightly larger than the Sparrowhawk Cooper's hawk (A. cooperi) from North America: total length 40 - 46 cm, weight 380 - 560 g. This bird is known for its aggressiveness, especially when protecting nests, including from humans.
Short-toed hawk (Accipiter soloensis). This hawk is very rare in Russia. Only a few times its nests were found in the broad-leaved forest near Vladivostok and these birds were met during seasonal migrations on the coast of the Amur Bay and Lake Khanka. The diet of the hawk is dominated by small birds. The nest is located on the tops of tall trees. The number in Russia is unknown. The main range covers Korea, China, Taiwan. Listed in Appendix II of the CITES Convention.
A special group of hawks are the singing hawks of the Melierax genus living in Africa, which really have a strong voice.
The buzzard or buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a large hawk with a wingspan of up to 135 cm. Broad-winged and relatively short-tailed. Coloring - various shades of ocher. The bottom is lighter with dark longitudinal streaks.
Buzzards are the most common diurnal birds of prey in the forest zone of Eurasia. There are about 10 subspecies.
Buzzards hunt in open spaces and can soar for a long time, catching rising air currents. The main prey are voles, shrews, chicks, snakes. In Central Europe, wintering buzzards often stay near highways, picking up small animals hit by cars.
Buzzards nest along the edges of forests and groves. Large nests are usually located high in the trees. In the spring, pairs that have occupied a nesting site announce this with meowing cries. Pairs can exist for several years. The size of the clutch and the success of raising chicks directly depend on the number of small rodents - the main prey of buzzards.
The red-tailed buzzard lives in the taiga. When tracking prey, this large hawk can sit on top of a tree for hours or circle in the sky. Buzzards prey on small rodents, frogs, salamanders and small birds. It is not uncommon for buzzards to steal poultry chicks.
Common honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus). Easily confused with the buzzard of the same size and color. The coloration is extremely variable, but there is a wide dark stripe along the edge of the tail. It is also difficult to distinguish birds in flight by silhouette.
It lives in zones of mixed and deciduous forests - from France to Altai. In Central Europe it occurs from the foothills to the highlands, but mainly during nesting.
The choice of food depends on the availability of habitable biotopes. More often these are light deciduous and mixed forests. The basis of the diet of the honey buzzard is made up of earthen wasps and bees, which it eats at all stages of development. Amphibians, reptiles, young small birds and, less often, small rodents serve as additional food.
Honey beetles make long-distance flights to wintering grounds in Equatorial and South Africa. Such migrations are not typical of other European diurnal birds of prey.
The hawk, translated from Latin as the Accipiter genus, subfamily Accipitrinae, is a bird of prey from the hawk family, order Falconiformes, type: chordates, class: birds. Short, wide, rounded wings allow the hawk to develop great speed, and long claws and powerful paws make it easy to kill any prey. White feathers above the eyes of the hawk create the illusion of wide "eyebrows" and give it a slightly fabulous look, and the swiftness, agility and maneuverability of these birds is reflected in numerous proverbs and sayings.
Watching the flight of hawks, incredibly beautiful and strong birds, is a pleasure.
A photo. A hawk in the sky - soars in flight.
The hawk lives almost everywhere, but prefers a warm climate to a cold one and well-lit forests and shrublands to open areas. Prey can be seen from a distance of more than one and a half kilometers and does not see any obstacles on the way, therefore it can injure itself by crashing into a pole or other obstacle.
A photo. Hawk on the hunt.
A photo. The hawk has already coped with prey.
The color of plumage in birds of this family is diverse: from blue-gray undertones and shades to classic deep black. The dorsal part is always darker than the ventral part, and the outfit of young and adult males is completely different from each other. Hawks live mainly in pairs; females, along with males, actively defend their territory from strangers.
The male and female communicate with each other with certain sounds, this is especially noticeable when the birds build nests.
A photo. The hawk in the nest takes care of the offspring.
The caution of these birds helps them live to old age and die at a fairly old age.
In Russia, the sparrowhawk and goshawk are the most common. The regal posture distinguishes these birds from their relatives. The hawk among some peoples is considered the messenger of God and a noble, mystical bird.
A photo. Bird of prey hawk.
We suggest watching a fragment of the film - a hawk hunts a partridge.
It is believed that the generic name "hawks" is composed of two Proto-Slavic roots - "str" (speed) and "rebъ" (variegated / pockmarked). So the name of the bird reflects the colorful pattern of the chest plumage and the ability to quickly capture prey.
Description of the hawk
True hawks (Accipiter) are a genus of predatory birds from the hawk family (Accipitridae). They are not too large for diurnal predators - even the largest representative of the genus, the goshawk, does not exceed 0.7 m in length and weighs about 1.5 kg. Another common species, the sparrow hawk, grows to only 0.3–0.4 m and weighs 0.4 kg.
Appearance
Appearance, like the anatomy of a hawk, is determined by the area and lifestyle. The predator has excellent eyesight, 8 times sharper than the human one. The brain of a hawk receives a binocular (volumetric) image due to the special arrangement of the eyes - not on the sides of the head, but somewhat closer to the beak.
The eyes of adult birds are yellow/yellow-orange, sometimes with a hint of red or reddish-brown (tyuvik). In some species, the iris brightens slightly with age. The hawk is armed with a strong hooked beak with a characteristic feature - the absence of a tooth on top of the beak.
This is interesting! The hawk hears perfectly, but distinguishes smells not so much with the nostrils as with ... the mouth. If a bird is given stale meat, it will most likely grab it with its beak, but then it will certainly throw it away.
The lower legs are usually feathered, but there are no feathers on the fingers and tarsus. The legs are powerful muscles. The wings are relatively short and blunt, the tail (wide and long) is usually rounded or straight cut. The color of the top in most species is darker than the bottom: these are gray or brown tones. The general light background of the lower part (white, yellowish or light ocher) is always diluted with transverse/longitudinal ripples.
Character and lifestyle
The hawk lives in the thicket of the forest and nests in the highest tree to survey its hunting grounds of about 100-150 km². This forest hunter deftly maneuvers in dense canopy, turning vertically/horizontally, suddenly stopping and taking off sharply, as well as making unexpected attacks towards the victims. The compact size of the body and the shape of the wings help in this bird.
A hawk, unlike an eagle, does not soar in the sky, looking out for living creatures for a long time, but unexpectedly attacks any (running, standing or flying) object, lying in wait from an ambush. Grasping, the predator squeezes it tightly with its paws and bites with its claws, stabbing and strangling at the same time. The hawk devours the prey whole, along with hair/feathers and bones.
If a steep “ki-ki-ki” or a drawn-out “ki-i-i, ki-i-i” comes from the forest, then you heard the vocal part of the hawk. Much more melodic sounds, similar to the sound of a flute, are made by song hawks. Once a year (usually after breeding), hawks, like all birds of prey, molt. Sometimes the molt drags on for a couple of years.
How long do hawks live
Ornithologists believe that hawks in the wild can live up to 12-17 years. In the forests of North America, under the nests of hawks, hummingbirds like to settle down, fleeing from their natural enemies, squirrels and jays. Such fearlessness is easily explained - hawks prey on squirrels, but are completely indifferent to hummingbirds.
Classification, types
The genus of hawks includes 47 species, the most common of which is called Accepiter gentills, the goshawk. Birds of the Eastern Hemisphere fly to Asia for the winter, those of the Western Hemisphere fly to Mexico. The goshawk is prone to a sedentary lifestyle, but avoids settling in large forest areas. In flight, the bird demonstrates an undulating trajectory.
Accipiter nisus (sparrowhawk) is represented by six subspecies, living from Western Europe and North Africa east to the Pacific Ocean. The highest population density in Europe is observed in Russia and Scandinavia. Nests lined with foliage and soft moss are built on coniferous trees, more often on spruce trees. The couple builds a new nest every year. The Sparrowhawk is an excellent hunter who needs a varied landscape with a huge number of small birds.
This is interesting! In the Caucasus / Crimea, autumn quail hunting with hunting hawks is popular, which are caught, tamed and trained for several days. Once the hunting season is over, the sparrowhawks are released.
The Sparrowhawk can be recognized by its conspicuous black plumage with transverse white lines on the abdomen.
Range, habitats
The genus Accipiter (real hawks) has taken root in all corners of the globe, excluding the Arctic. They are found almost throughout Eurasia, ranging from the forest-tundra in the north to the southern points of the mainland. Hawks have adapted to the climates of Africa and Australia, North and South America, the Philippines, Indonesia and Tasmania, as well as Ceylon, Madagascar and other islands.
Birds inhabit savannahs, tropical jungles, broadleaf and coniferous forests, plains and mountains.. They prefer not to climb deep into the thicket, choosing open light edges, coastal forests and light forests. Some species have learned to live even in open landscapes. Hawks from temperate latitudes are adherents of settled life, and birds from the northern regions fly away for wintering to southern countries.
Hawk Diet
Birds (medium and small) are of the greatest gastronomic interest for them, but if necessary, hawks eat small mammals, amphibians (toads and frogs), snakes, lizards, insects and fish. The predominant part of the menu is made up of small birds (mainly from the passerine family):
- oatmeal, sparrows and lentils;
- finches,
big hawk, or - is a master of lightning attack. He is a born strategist and aerial acrobat with perfect hunting savvy.
Row - Birds of Prey
Family - Hawks
Genus / Species - Accipiter gentilis
Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: male - 58 cm, female - 68 cm.
Wingspan: male - 95 cm, female - 125 cm.
Weight: male - 700-1 100 g, female - 800-1 500 g.
BREEDING
Puberty: from 2-3 years.
Nesting period: March to July.
Carrying: 1 per season.
Number of eggs: 3-5.
Incubation: 35-38 days.
Feeding chicks: 40-43 days.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: with the exception of the nesting period, loners.
Food: birds and mammals.
Life span: about 15 years.
Related SPECIES
There are 47 species of hawks in the world.
big hawk
- extremely courageous and stubborn bird. It differs from other predatory birds in its bloodthirstiness - if there is such an opportunity, the goshawk is not satisfied with one victim, but kills as many birds as it can catch.
FOOD
goshawk active most of the day, even at midday. Amazing gluttony makes this bird hunt almost continuously. Considerable size allows this dexterous predator to kill even such large prey as rabbits or hares. The great hawk also hunts rats and squirrels, and with game birds it prefers the Galliformes, such as partridges, black grouse and pheasants.
In Central Europe, the goshawk preys on pigeons, crows, ravens, forty jays. It can also make do with smaller prey, such as thrushes and finches. During the hunt, the goshawk uses the moment of surprise. He sits on an observation post or slowly circles at a distance of several meters from the ground, looking out for the prey he needs. With large prey, such as a rabbit, he flies to a quiet place and tears it to pieces there.
LOCATION
The goshawk is found in many areas. He lives not only in the lowlands, but also in the mountains, but always in places overgrown with forests. The goshawk lives in forests, where there are enough clearings, meadows and fields. He tries to stay in places remote from civilization, but the proximity of human habitation does not interfere with him, in this case a large hawk can hunt poultry. The area of the hunting area of a pair of goshawks on average reaches 4-6 km2. Depending on the place of residence, the hawk leads a sedentary or nomadic lifestyle. Migratory birds in the north.
BREEDING
Large hawks become sexually mature at the age of two years, but often the birds start nesting only in the third year of life. Early in spring, young birds begin to search for a partner, with whom they most often spend their whole lives. The first to perform mating dances is the female. Then both partners demonstrate aerobatics. They, slowly flapping their outstretched wings, fly around nesting sites, rise high up and, folding their wings, fall down. These paired birds repeat many times, and then disappear into the forest, where mating takes place. This hawk nests on old and tall trees in the forest. The inner part of the nest is lined by the female with small twigs of coniferous trees or fresh leaves. Birds use the same nest for several years in a row, updating it annually. The female lays eggs with a break of 2-3 days. The chicks usually hatch after 5 weeks. The male fed the female, who incubated the eggs, and brings food to the chicks. The chicks leave the nest at the age of 35-40 days, but then they do not go far from the nest.
OBSERVATIONS goshawk
This hawk inhabits deciduous and coniferous forests, but it is rarely seen because it is shy and leads a secretive lifestyle. Often the presence in the forest is given out by the remains of prey or belching under the place where the bird usually sits. With luck, a large hawk can be seen during the hunt, when it soars over wide clearings or forest clearings, looking for prey. The best time to watch this predator is on nice sunny days in March or April when it circles high in the sky on its nuptial flight. In its silhouette, it looks like a sparrowhawk.
OR DO YOU KNOW THAT...
In various languages, the name goshawk comes from the animals that it preys on more often. The Germans often call him the "trigger catcher", and the Poles - the "pigeon hunter". The English name "goshawk", short for "goose - hawk", suggests that he hunts geese, but this is a misconception.
goshawk
often used for falconry, however, the independent and violent disposition of the bird makes it much more difficult to tame it than other falconiformes used for falconry.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES goshawk
The legs of a large hawk are armed with strong, razor-sharp claws, with which it easily grabs and kills prey.
Short wide wings and long tail feathers provide excellent maneuverability in the air and allow you to deftly avoid obstacles while hunting.
LIVING PLACE
The large hawk lives in Europe, Central Asia and northern North America.
PRESERVATION
The greatest danger to the goshawk is a person who constantly pursues him as a pest. Despite the protection of birds of prey, large hawks continue to be killed and caught with the help of "hawk baskets".
Goshawk video
If you like our site tell your friends about us!
