Northern goshawk  (Accipiter gentilis)

Description

A large and powerful bird of prey, the northern goshawk was traditionally revered as a symbol of strength. It possesses short, robust wings that enable rapid acceleration, and a long tail, which provides excellent manoeuvrability while flying between trees (3). The adult plumage is brownish-grey to slate grey above, with a black cap on the head and a distinctive white stripe above the reddish-orange eyes (4) (3). The underparts are light grey with fine horizontal barring on the breast, and small, black, vertical streaks on the throat (3). The adult female is considerably larger than the male, with browner upperparts and coarser markings on the breast, while the juvenile is brown above and pale buff to whitish below, with heavy streaking. The northern goshawk exhibits a high degree of geographical variation, with eight subspecies currently recognised, separated by size, colouration and plumage patterning (4).

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