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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gabar Goshawk

Last Wednesday I posted about this bird and said I didn't have a definite ID for it. During the week I sent photos to a friend who's an expert on raptors, is falconer back in South Africa and has this bird drinking at his garden pond in Mpumlanga.

He came back within minutes of receiving my mail and gave me a definite ID. It's a Gabar Goshawk, a juvenile and a female. (Esther Garvi from Niger also Id'd it correctly) I'll write the description of the bird under each of the photos. If you're interested, check these against the bird.

The above bird is a juvenile Gabar Goshawk. The vertical AND horizontal lines on the breast are diagnostic
  
Although juveniles have longer tails than adults, Pale and Dark Chanting Goshawks never have tails as long as the Gabar Goshawk. According to my Birds South of the Sahara (Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan) the Gabar Goshawk is the only juvenile accipeter with a white rump. This feature is quite easy to see in the photos above

The juvenile is brown above as seen in photos with yellow eyes and orange legs. The thickness of the legs indicate that it's a female  (now, that 's unfair!)

 All Goshawks have vertical and horizontal stripes but the Dark Chanting Goshawk's breast is much darker. The Pale and Dark Chanting Goshawks is also much bulkier and larger than the Gabar Goshawk. The Dark and Pale Chanting Goshawk's are 48-56cm tall while the Gabar Goshawk is 28-36cm.



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16 comments:

  1. Glad you found out what that beautiful bird is.... They are gorgeous.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Oh, she's just beautiful. I'm glad you gave us information, too, because I thought her tail feathers seemed really long..longer than on most birds!

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  3. Glad you got a definite ID Jo.
    She is a beauty.

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  4. I love the birds of prey I have always said I want to come back to this world as a Peregrine Falcon :)
    Great photos. Diane

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  5. Jo, what an awesome looking hawk! Great photos and sighting.

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  6. i always love the way they always look angry!

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  7. So now we know and I will forget in a minute. But I wont forget how pretty it is nor how good is your photography.

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  8. Awesome sighting and captures. Nice to know other birders.

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  9. A beautiful bird Jo and so much ID information as well. So great that you have someone you can rely on if you are stuck or unsure.

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  10. Now that's some incredible bird! And being able to identify them must give you a sense of joy. Next time I see one I probably say "Hawk"! Or maybe "duck" or even "bird"! You mentioned Mpumalanga...I was able to take my wife and three of her siblings and spouses there for a trip once. Stopped off in Jo'burg on the way to Nairobi for two nights. We all found it to be a lovely place.

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  11. Thats an incredible looking bird and a new species for my armchair list.... Thanks for sharing

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  12. A beautiful bird to see Jo... many thanks for the extra info.

    I have just had a lovely browse around your blog.

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  13. Wow..amazing raptor..I just chased a coopers hawk out of our garage where it was looking for house sparrows.. That surprised both of us...

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  14. Great photos of an impressive looking bird.

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  15. Great article Joo. So glad you solved the mystery and let us in on the solution. It is a an incredible bird, even the name, Dark Chanting Goshawk, is intriguing. I imagine singing monks!

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  16. Wonderful capture! He's a beautiful bird.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo