Field identification of African Accipiter species and similar looking hawks

9 Pages·1997·6.7 MB·

by  David G Allan

Field identification of African Accipiter species
and similar-looking hawks
David G. Allan
T
iefieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies alsotreated. The Pale andDark ChantingGoshawks
andsimilar-lookinghawkspresentsonethecon- andGabarGoshawkarecloselyrelated,withthelast
tinent’s more difficult identification challenges. One having converged closely on an Accipiter-like ap-
obvious problem is the high diversity of lookalike pearanceandhabits.ThemisnamedLizardBuzzardis
species,manyofwhichoverlapwidelyindistribution probablyalsocloselyrelatedtothesethreespecies;it
andhabitat.Anotherproblemistheirsecretivehabits. hasasimilarloudandrepetitivecalltothetwochant-
They rarely allow a leisurely examination, forcing ing goshawks. The Cuckoo Hawk superficially
identificationbasedontypicallyfleetingglimpses of resembles these other ‘barred hawks’ in plumage
these dashing killers. Reliable identification also re- features but is a member of the ‘bazas’, a forest-
quires attention to key relevant details, frequently dwellinggroupofraptors,withotherrepresentatives
ignored or inaccurately portrayed in the main field inAsiaandtraditionallyalliedwiththekites.
guidesandhandbookscoveringtheregion.Theradi- The only other African bird of prey that could
callydifferentappearanceofadultsandjuveniles,the arguablyhavebeenincludedinthisarticleistheLong-
presenceofall-blackmelanisticformsinfourspecies, tailedHawkUrotriorchismacrourusoftheequatorial
and geographicalvariation in certain morphological forests of Central and West Africa. The taxonomic
features intensifythe challenge. The 16 species cov- affinitiesofthisuniqueraptormayliewiththeguildof
eredinthis articleare: speciesrepresentedbytheChantingandGabarGos-
hawks, andLizardBuzzard. Itsinordinatelylongtail,
AfflrainckaendGosShpaawrkroAcwchipaiwtkertAa.chircoa,stCahneisltinuust,- however,immediatelydistinguishesitfromanyother
Africanbirdofprey.
Red-thighedSparrowhawkA.erythropus,Lit- The critical features to note when identifying
tle SparrowhawkA. minullus, Little Banded these species are their relative sizes (see above),
Goshawk (Shikra) A. badius, Levant
colours of the soft parts (eyes, cere and legs), the
Sparrowhawk A. brevipes, Ovambo
precise pattern of markings on the underparts, and
Sparrowhawk A. ovampensis, Red-breasted the presence or absence of white markings on the
Sparrowhawk A. rufiventris, European rumpanduppersurfaceofthetail.Thevalueofbody
Sparrowhawk A. nisus, Black Sparrowhawk size,however,iscompromisedbythemarkedsexual
A. melanoleucus, Northern Goshawk A.
dimorphisminmostofthesebirds.Asinmostbirdsof
gentilis, Pale Chanting Goshawk Melierax prey, females are larger than males and this is most
canorus, Dark Chanting Goshawk M.
pronounced amongAccipiterspecies. Several other
metabates,GabarGoshawkMicronisusgabar, features, usually concerning the head region, and
Lizard BuzzardKaupifalco monogrammicus especially the presence or absence of eyebrow
and Cuckoo HawkAvicedacuculoides. stripes andthroat stripes, canalsobeuseful insome
Mostofthe species coveredhere carrythe name cases. Itismostimportanttoimmediatelydistinguish
‘sparrowhawk’ or ‘goshawk’ but this distinction has whetheranadultorjuvenilebirdisbeingexamined.
little biological significance and was inherited from In all these species, the initial juvenile plumage is
thewesternEuropeansituation,whereonlytwospe- replacedbyfull adult plumage, probablywithin 12-
cies occur, the smallest originally termed the 18months,withnointermediateimmatureplumages.
“Sparrowhawk”andthelargestthe“Goshawk”.These Adults are typicallyplain greyabove andbarredbe-
twotermswerethenappliedinasomewhatarbitrary low, while juveniles are brown above, with
fashiontothewiderdiversityof‘barredhawks’occur- characteristicpalebufftipstothefeathers,andstreaked
ringinAfrica.The16speciesinthegenusAccipiterare orspottedontheunderparts.Therearesomeexcep-
the true sparrowhawks andgoshawks, andformthe tions, as outlined below. Knowledge ofhabitat and
coreofthisarticle,withafewotherlookalikespecies distributioncanalsobeuseful inmanyinstances.
74-BullABC Vol4No2 FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan.
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Table 1 Summaryofthe key identification features ofAfricanAccipiterspecies and similar-looking hawks
Species Size Underparts Rump Uppertail* Eye Cere Legs
ADULTS
AfricanGoshawk 36-47cm plainrufous(lowerGuinea) dark whitespots(male) yellow grey yellow
barred (elsewhere)
Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk 28—35cm barred dark whitebars(male) yellow yellow yellow
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk 23-28cm rufouswash white brokenwhitebars orange yellow/orange yellow/
orange
faintbarring
LittleSparrowhawk 23-27cm barred white whitespots yellow yellow yellow
LittleBandedGoshawk 28-30cm barred dark centralplain red(male) yellow yellow
orange(female)
LevantSparrowhawk 32-38cm barred dark centralplain red grey(male) yellow
yellow(female)
Ovambo Sparrowhawk 31-40cm barred dark whiteflecks winered yellow/orange/ yellow/
red orange/red
Red-breasted Sparrowhawk 33-40cm plainrufous dark whiteflecks yellow yellow yellow
European Sparrowhawk 28-38cm barred dark orange(male) yellow yellow
yellow(female)
Black Sparrowhawk 46-58cm black ‘waistcoat’ dark winered yellow yellow
Northern Goshawk 43-61 cm barred dark yellow/orange yellow yellow
PaleChantingGoshawk 46-63cm plainupper,barredlower white brown red red
DarkChantingGoshawk 43-56cm plainupper,barredlower dark brown red red
GabarGoshawk 28-36cm plainupper,barredlower white brown red red
Lizard Buzzard 35-37cm plainupper,barredlower white blackwith1 brown pink pink
or2whitebars
Cuckoo Hawk 38-41 cm plainupper,barredlower dark yellow/ yellow yellow
orange/red
JUVENILES
African Goshawk spotted dark whitespots(male) brown grey yellow
Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk spotted dark whitebars(male) brown yellow yellow
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk spotted, barredflanks dark brokenwhitebars yellow yellow yellow
LittleSparrowhawk spotted dark whitespots yellow yellow yellow
LittleBandedGoshawk spottedupper,barredlower dark yellow yellow yellow
LevantSparrowhawk spotted/streaked dark brown yellow yellow
Ovambo Sparrowhawk mottled dark whiteflecks brown yellow/orange yellow/
orange
Red-breasted Sparrowhawk mottled dark whiteflecks yellow yellow yellow
European Sparrowhawk mottled (male) dark yellow yellow yellow
barred (female)
Black Sparrowhawk streaked dark whiteedging brown yellow yellow
tobars
Northern Goshawk streaked dark whiteedging yellow yellow yellow
tobars
PaleChantingGoshawk mottledupper, barredlower white yellow grey/orange yellow
DarkChanting Goshawk mottledupper, barredlower dark yellow grey/orange yellow
GabarGoshawk streakedupper, barredlower white yellow grey/yellow/ yellow/
orange orange
Lizard Buzzard plainupper,barredlower white blackwith1 brown pink pink
or2whitebars
Cuckoo Hawk plainupper,barredlower dark yellow yellow yellow
*uppertailotherwisebarredwithblackandgreyasinallspecies(exceptLizardBuzzard)andwithoutanydistinctivefeatures
Fieldidentification ofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan BullABC Vol4No2-75
Small- to medium-sized Accipiterspecies areyellow. Theupperpartsandrumparepaledove-
and Gabar Goshawk - adults grey, andtheunderpartsarebarredthroughout. The
TheAfrican Goshawk iswidespread in forestedand centraltailfeathersareunbarredplaingrey, afeature
well-woodedregions. Anotherwise secretivebird, it sharedonlywithLevantSparrowhawk,andwhenthe
is highly conspicuous when flying high above its birdisseenatrestfrombehindnobarringisvisiblein
forested home giving a characteristic ‘clicking’ call. the tail. The other tail feathers are boldly barred
Thegreycerecolourisunusualandsharedonlywith though,asinmostoftheotherraptorscoveredinthis
themaleLevantSparrowhawkinthisgroup.Theeyes article.
and legs are yellow. The underparts are barred The Levant Sparrowhawk is closely related, and
throughout and the rump is plain grey. The upper similarinappearance,totheLittleBandedGoshawk.
surfaceofthetailhaswhitespotsinthemale;theseare Itisanon-breedingmigranttonorth-eastAfricawhich
absent in the female. The populations found in the is rarely recorded, although large numbers migrate
equatorial forests of Central and West Africa may into Africa through the Middle East. It differs from
constitute a separate species, the Red-chested Gos- LittleBandedGoshawkinitslargersize,longerpointed
hawk A. toussenelii, which apparently lacks the wings, and, especially in the males, very pale un-
distinctive vocal display flight characteristic of the barred flight feathers (appearing ‘silvery’ in colour)
specieselsewhereinAfrica.ThoseinthelowerGuinea contrastingwiththedistinctiveblackwing-tips.Males
forestsofCentralAfricaalsohaveadistinctivelydiffer- differ further in having a grey cere and only faintly
ent plumage pattern, with unbarred plain rufous barred underparts, and females in having a brown
underparts(sometimeswithfaintbarringonthethighs throatstripe. Both sexeshave redeyes.
only) and plain greythroats contrasting clearlywith The Gabar Goshawk, although most closely re-
the remainderoftheunderparts. latedtothechantinggoshawks, resemblesthesmall-
The richly coloured Chestnut-flanked tomedium-sizedAccipiterspeciesinappearanceand
Sparrowhawkisapoorly-knownspeciesoftheequa- habits. It is found in mostwoodland types but pen-
torialforestsofCentralAfrica.Theeyes,cereandlegs etrates deeperinto arid countrythan any ofthe true
are yellow. The underparts are heavily barred with Accipiterspecies. The cere and legs are a distinctive
greyandbrown,andtherumpisdark.Therearewhite redandtheeyesbrown. Theunderpartshaveatwo-
bars on the upper surface of the tail in males. It is tone pattern: the upper chest is plain grey, and the
smaller,darker,moreheavilybarredandhasalonger lowerchestandbellyisbarred. The rump isbroadly
tailthanAfricanGoshawkwhichsharesitshabitat. white but there are nowhite markings ontheupper
The Red-thighed Sparrowhawk is another little- surface ofthetail.
knownAccipiteroftheequatorialforestsandisclosely TheOvamboSparrowhawkisanotherdenizenof
related to the Little Sparrowhawk. The eyes are or- Africa’swoodlands,especiallywherethereisamosaic
ange,andthecereandlegsareorangeoryellow.The ofopenareasandtallwoodland.Itisrarethroughout
upperpartsareverydarkgrey, almostblack, andthe its range, except in the Gauteng Province of South
underparts have a rufous wash orfaint barring. The Africa, where it is one of the commonest breeding
rump is white and the upper surface ofthe tail has raptors. It is particularly slim in appearance, with a
brokenwhitebars. small head and relatively long wings. The eyes are
The Little Sparrowhawk is the smallestofall the wine-red and the colour ofthe cere and legs varies
raptors considered here and inhabits forest, thickets betweenred, orangeandyellow.Theunderpartsare
andwell-developedwoodlandbutavoidstheequato- barred throughout. The rump is grey and the upper
rial forests, where it is replaced by the Red-thighed surface ofthe tail haswhite flecks onthe centraltail
Sparrowhawk. The eyes, cere and legs are yellow. shaftsbetweenthe darkbars.
Theupperpartsaregreyandtheunderpartsarebarred The Red-breasted Sparrowhawk is largely re-
throughout.Therumpiswhiteandtheuppersurface strictedto theAfromontane regions ofthe continent
of the tail has white spots. Little Sparrowhawk and where there is a mosaic of montane grassland and
African Goshawk overlap widely and are similar in forest, although it also occurs widely in the fynbos
appearance but differ in size, and cere and rump biome (and adjacent parts of the semi-arid Karoo
colour. shrublands) in extreme southern Africa, wherever
TheLittleBandedGoshawk(orShikra)isonethe therearetallcopsesoftreesforittonestin.Withinits
mostwidespreadandabundantofthe‘barredhawks’ rangeitistheonlyAccipiterwithplainrufousunder-
foundinAfricanwoodlands.Theeyecolourischerry- parts. The eyes, cere and legs are yellow, and the
redinmalesandorangeinfemales.Thecereandlegs upperpartsandrumpareadistinctiveslategrey.The
76-BullABC Vol4No2 FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan
JuvenileBlack
Sparrowhawk
AdultBlack
Sparrowhawk
MelanisticBlack
Sparrowhawk
JuvenileBlackffl
Sparrowhawk
AdultPale
ChantingGoshawk
Race:EAfr.
JuvenileNorthern
Goshawk
AdultNorthern
Goshawk
AdultPale
ChantingGoshawk
Race:SthnAfr.^
JuvenilePale
if'\, ChantingGoshawk
I
Adult 4
CuckooHawle
Juvenile
AdultDark 1
ChantingGoshawk
JuvenileDark
ChantingGoshawk
LizardBuzzard
LizardBuzzard
2-bandedTail
Plate 1: PlumagesofBlackSparrowhawk,NorthernGoshawk,PaleChantingGoshawk,CuckooHawk,DarkChantingGoshawkand
LizardBuzzard.
FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan BullABC Vo!4No2-77
upper surface ofthe tail has white flecks, similar to tinctlyastheothertailfeathers.Ithasafainteyebrow
thosefoundintheOvamboSparrowhawkbutnotas stripe andathroatstripe.
welldeveloped. Theheadhasahoodedappearance ThejuvenileLevantSparrowhawkhasapalenape,
causedbythe contrastbetweenthe dark crown and browneyesandayellowcereandlegs.Itsunderparts
face, andpalerthroat. are densely spotted or streaked throughout and its
The European Sparrowhawk, like the Levant rumpisdark.Ithasdarkverticalthroatstripe.Itdiffers
Sparrowhawk, is a non-breeding migrant to north- fromtheLittleBandedGoshawkinitspalenape, eye
eastAfrica,althoughitalsobreedsalongthesouthern colour, underpartpatternandtheabsenceofaneye-
rimoftheMediterraneaninNorthAfrica.Thecereand browstripe.
legs areyellow. The underparts are barred through- JuvenileGabarGoshawkhasyelloweyes,agrey,
out,therumpisdarkandtheuppersurfaceofthetail yellowororangecere,andyellowororangelegs.The
lacksanywhitemarkings. Themalehasorange eyes underparts are streaked on the chest and barred on
andfemaleyelloweyes.Thefemaleisgrey-coloured, thebelly.Therumpisboldlywhite, andthereareno
withaneyebrowstripe. Themalehasa rufouswash whitemarkingsontheuppersurfaceofthetail.There
onthecheeksandunderparts,andlacksanyeyebrow is a faint eyebrow stripe and the head is streaked in
stripe. appearance.
The juvenile Ovambo Sparrowhawk has brown
Small- to medium-sized Accipiterspecies eyes andyellow or orange cere and legs. Its under-
and Gabar Goshawk -juveniles parts can be either white or rufous with indistinct
JuvenileAfricanGoshawkhasbrowneyes,agreycere darkermottlingorstreaking.Therumpisdarkandthe
andyellowlegs.Theunderpartsarespotted(butonly uppersurface ofthe tail has distinctwhite flecks on
very lightly in the lower Guinea forest populations) thecentraltailshafts.Ithasapale,streakedheadwith
andtheirrumpsare dark. Maleshavewhitespotson abroadwhiteeyebrowstripeandadarkpatchonthe
the upper surface oftheir tails; this is lacking in the ear coverts. Its upperparts are distinctly ‘scaled’ in
females.Theyhaveabroadwhiteeyebrowstripeand appearance, caused by the broad pale tips to the
averticaldarkthroatstripe. feathers.
ThejuvenileChestnut-flankedSparrowhawkhas JuvenileRed-breastedSparrowhawkisveiysimi-
afaintpaleeyebrowstripe,browneyesandayellow lar to, and easily confused with, rufous-coloured
cereandlegs.Theunderpartsarelightlyspottedwith Ovambo Sparrowhawks. They differ in their yellow
large dark spots and the rump is dark. Males have eyesanduniformlydarkerupperpartsandhead,with
whitebarsontheuppersurfaceofthetail. Ithasdark onlyafaintpaleeyebrowstriperestrictedtothearea
rufous thighs, unlike the white or only light rufous behind the eye and the absence of the distinct ear
thighsofAfricanGoshawkwhichsharesitshabitat. patchfound inthatspecies. Thewhitetailflecks are
Juvenile Red-thighed Sparrowhawk has yellow alsolesswelldeveloped.
eyes, cere and legs. The underparts are only lightly The juvenile male European Sparrowhawk has
spotted, with barred flanks, unlike the wholly, and mottled underparts. The juvenile female has barred
heavily, spottedunderparts ofthe similarsizedLittle underparts, which is unusual as this is similarto the
Sparrowhawk. The rump is dark and the upper sur- patternfoundintheadults. Theireyes, cereandlegs
faceofthetail hasbrokenwhitebars. areyellow,andtheyhavebroadwhiteeyebrowstripes.
ThejuvenileLittleSparrowhawkhasyelloweyes, Therumpisdarkandtheuppersurfaceofthetaillacks
cereandlegs.Itsunderpartsarespottedandtherump anywhitemarkings.
isdark(unlikethewhite rumpofadults). Theupper
surface ofthe tail has white spots. It can always be Black Sparrowhawk and
distinguishedfromAfricanGoshawkwhichsharesits Northern Goshawk
habitat by size, cere colour and the absence of the The large size ofthese two species should rule out
throatstripe andbroadeyebrowstripefound inthat confusion with any other species considered here
species. (exceptforthesimilar-sized,butdifferentlyplumaged,
JuvenileLittleBandedGoshawkhasyelloweyes, chanting goshawks).
cere and legs. The underparts have a two-tone pat- The Black Sparrowhawk is widespread in sub-
tern, with rust-coloured spots on the chest and a SaharanAfrica,occurringvirtuallywhereverthereare
barred belly. The rump is dark. The two central tail tall trees, from closed forest to open environments
feathers, plain in adults, are barred but not as dis- withisolatedcopses.Itisafearsomepredator,taking
78-BullABC Vol4No2 FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan
preyaslargeasguineafowlNumidasp.Likeseveralof and appears longer-legged. The adultPale Chanting
theotherAccipiterspeciesinAfrica, ithasbenefitted Goshawk has a pure white rump. In flight, it shows
fromthespreadofalientreesandtheincrease,brought whitesecondariescontrastingstronglywiththeblack
about by crop farming, in its main prey species (pi- primaries, although the EastAfrican race has greyer
geons, doves and gamebirds), and has increased in secondariesthansouthernAfricanbirds. EastAfrican
distributionandnumbers. birdsdifferfurtherinhavingayellowcereandorange
Theadulthasauniquepiedappearanceandthe legs, compared with the red cere and legs of their
amountofwhiteontheunderpartsishighlyvariable southern cousins. Adult Dark Chanting Goshawks
but usually forms a ‘waistcoat’ extending from the havefinelybarredrumps,appearinguniformlygreyat
flankstowardsthecentreofthechestandbelly. The a distance, andgreysecondaries and primaries. The
juvenile canbe eitherwhite orrufous onthe under- whitesecondariesofthesouthernAfricanbirdsresult
parts, with long and narrow streaks down the chest in a pale, freckled patch in the folded wing, absent
and belly. The dark bars in the tail are fringed with in both the East African birds and Dark Chanting
white, a feature shared only with juvenile Northern Goshawk. The juveniles are even more similar and
Goshawk. In flight, it shows a white patch in the canonlysafelybetoldapartbytheirrumpcoloration:
primariesontheupperwing. whitewithfaint, rust-colouredV-shapedmarkingsin
TheNorthernGoshawkinAfricaoccursregularly the Pale Chanting Goshawk (appearing white at a
only in Morocco, where it is uncommon. It inhabits distance), and broadlybarred with grey in the Dark
oak,cedarandconiferwoodlandsandforests.Thisis Chanting Goshawk (appearing uniformly grey at a
the mostpowerfulAccipiterand regularlyoverpow- distance). Otherwise, juveniles ofboth species have
erspreyaslargeashares.Itsdistributionoverlapsonly yelloweyesandlegs,greyororangecere,andunder-
withEuropeanSparrowhawk. Thesetwospeciesare parts lightlystreaked ormottled onthe upperchest,
best distinguishedonthe basis ofsize. Asmall adult andbarredonthe lowerchestandbelly.
male Northern Goshawk could be confused with a The Lizard Buzzard is widespread in woodland,
large adult female European Sparrowhawk, but the especiallymoisterbroadleavedwoodlands. Itis‘gos-
former is greyer, has relatively narrower and longer hawk-like’inoverallappearancebutisratherstocky,
wingsandashortertail. Thedeeprufousunderparts with a large head, short stout legs and talons, and a
withboldstreaksofjuvenileNorthernGoshawkshould short tail. It has a unique white throat patch with a
always differentiate it from juvenile European verticalblackstripe.Thecereandlegsareadistinctive
Sparrowhawk, which has palerunderpartswithbar- coralpinkincolour.Ithasabroadwhiterumpandthe
ringormottling. black tail has one or two white bars. It is unusual
amongtheseraptors, inthatthejuvenile issimilarin
Pale and Dark Chanting Goshawks and appearance to the adult, onlysomewhatbrownerin
Lizard Buzzard colour.
The two chanting goshawks are noticeably larger
Cuckoo Hawk
than the other raptors discussed here (except for
Black Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk). They TheCuckooHawkissimilartothesparrowhawksand
are the least secretive of these birds of prey, often goshawks in general appearance, although notice-
perching in exposed positionswitha distinctive up- ably longer winged and more sluggish in flight.
rightstance.Theirdistributionsoverlaponlymarginally Forests and well-developed woodland comprise its
atthe edgesoftheirrespective ranges. habitat. The slight crest at the back of the head
ThePaleChantingGoshawkhasadisjunctdistri- (borderedbelowwithachestnutpatchintheadults)
bution,occupyingdrydesertsandAcaciawoodlands isuniqueamongtheseraptors.Theheadisdove-like,
insouthernandEastAfrica,thetwopopulationsbeing the eyes prominent, and the bill and feet relatively
separated by the miombo woodlands ofCentral Af- weak. The eye colour of adults varies between
rica. The EastAfrican race may comprise a separate yellow, orange and deep red. The upper chest is
species, Eastern Chanting Goshawk M.poliopterus. plain grey and the barred lower chest and belly are
Dark Chanting Goshawk inhabits the moist, well- unusualintheirdeepchestnutcolourandbroadand
developed broadleavedwoodlands ofthe continent irregularnature.Theunderwingcovertsarealsorich
and there is an interesting isolated population in chestnut. Thecereandlegsareyellowandtherump
Morocco. isdark. Thejuvenilehasabroadeyebrowstripeand
The two species are similar in appearance. The its underparts are spotted. It has a dark rump, and
Pale Chanting Goshawk, however, is slightly larger yelloweyes, cere andlegs. Itiseasilyconfusedwith
FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan BullABC Vol4No2-79
AdultAfrican MelansticAfrican
Goshawk. Goshawk
E&SAfrica JuvenileAfrican
Goshawk.
E&SAfrica^ ^ Adult
Chestnut-Flanked
Sparrowhawk
Juvenile
AdultAfrican JuvenileOvambo Chestnut-Flanked
Goshawk. Sparrowhawk | Sparrowhawk
EquatorialForest
Race
MelanisticOvambo
Snarrowhawk A
JuvenileOvambo
Sparrowhawk
AdultRed-Breasted
Sparrowhawk a
AdullOvambo j*
Sparrowhawk
HBkJuvenileEuropean
Sparrowhawk
JuvenileRed- * (Female)
Breasted
Sparrowhawk
AdultEuropean
Sparrowhawk
(Male)
AdullEuropean
Sparrowhawk
(Female)
Plate2: PlumagesofAfricanGoshawk,Chestnut-flankedSparrowhawk,OvamboSparrowhawk,Red-breastedSparrowhawkand
European Sparrowhawk.
80-BullABC Vol4No2 FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan
JuvenileRed-
Thighed
Sparrowhawk
AdultRed-Thighed
Sparrowhawk
/ JuvenileGalx
Goshawk
AdultGaba
Goshawk
t
AdultLittle‘"’1
BandedGoshawk AdultLevant
(Male) Sparrowhawk
(Male)
AdultLittle
BandedGoshawk
(Female)
JuvenileLittle
BandedGoshawk
AdultLevant
Sparrowhawk
(Female)
Plate3:PlumagesofRed-thighedSparrowhawk,GabarGoshawk,LittleSparrowhawk,LittleBandedGoshawkandLevant
Sparrowhawk.
FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan BullABC Vol4No2-81
juvenileAfricanGoshawkbutitsshape,crest,lackof rump otherwise typical of the species, but have
athroatstripeandyellow(notgrey)ceredifferentiate boldly black-and-white barred wings and tails, and
the two. unique black ‘scales’ on the front of their legs and
toes. Melanistic Black Sparrowhawk shows no bar-
Melanistic forms ring in the wings and tail, and usually have some
Four of the species discussed here have melanistic whiteonthethroat.MelanisticOvamboSparrowhawk
forms,wheretheplumageislargelyorentirelyblack. exhibit little barring in the wings and tail but retain
In the Gabar Goshawk, this condition can be rela- the white flecks on the upper surface of the tail.
tivelycommon, especially in higherrainfall regions, MelanisticAfricanGoshawkalsoshowssomebarring
andupto 15%ofbirdscanbemelanistic. Thecondi- inthewingsandtailbutarenoticeablybrownerthan
tion is usually rarer in Black Sparrowhawks but in melanistics oftheotherthree species, andthe males
some regions melanistic birds can predominate, for lack the white spots on the upper surface ofthe tail
exampleintheextremesouthofthespecies’range,in typicalofmalesoftheusualform. Melanisminthese
the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South species masks many of the usual clues used in
Africa. Melanistic Ovambo Sparrowhawks are ex- differentiatingthemand particularattentionmustbe
tremely rare (perhaps 1-2% of birds). Melanism in paid to size and shape comparisons, and to the
African Goshawk appears restricted to the EastAfri- coloursofthesoft-partswhichremainthesameasin
can race and little is known of its extent in this thenormalbirds(bearinginmindadultandjuvenile
population. differences in soft-part coloration). 'P
Melanistic Gabar Goshawk lacks the bold white
Durban Natural ScienceMuseum, Private Bag 4085,
Durban4000, SouthAfrica.
82-BullABC Vol4No2 FieldidentificationofAfricanAccipiterspecies:Allan