page_title: Northern goshawk
section_title: Interspecies predatory relationships
hierarchical_section_title: Northern goshawk / Dietary biology / Interspecies predatory relationships
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: bulletinunitedst261883unitfo (find matches) Title: Bulletin - United States National Museum Year: 1877 (1870s) Authors: United States National Museum Smithsonian Institution United States. Dept. of the Interior Subjects: Science Publisher: Washington&#160;: Smithsonian Institution Press, (etc.) for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt Print. Off. Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: Fig. 68.—Head of Marsh Hawk, uat. size. other wet places in the northern part of the city. It is one of the speciesmost frequently exposed for sale in the markets. (489) The Swallow-tailed Kite, Elanoides forjicatus, is a wide ranging spe-cies, which may pay us a flying visit at any time. 151. (6.) Accipiter fuscus (Gm.) Bp. Sharp-shinned Hawk.Resident. Abundant. (494) 152. (5.) Accipiter cooperi Bp. Coopers Hawk&#160;; Chicken Hawk.Resident. Abundant. (495) Text Appearing After Image: Fig. C9.—Bill and foot of Coopers Hawk, nat. size. RAPTORES ACCIPITRES FALCONID^E. 8 7 153. (4.) Astur atricapillus (Wils.) Bp. Goshawk. Very rare; only occasionally observed during the winter months. (496J 154. (—.) Falco peregrinus Tunstall. Peregrine Falcon&#160;; Duck Hawk.Very rare and only casual. We are informed by Mr. George Shoe-maker that a Duck Hawk was seen upon the river in winter some yearsago. On inquiring further into this case, Mr. William Palmer, who sawthe bird, gave us the following account: Ashe was skating on theriverjustabove Long Bridge, one morning in December, 1878, he observed a num-ber of Ducks upon some open water, towards which a man was pushing askiff over the ice. At his shot, a Duck which had been wounded rose andflew along a few feet over the ice. Mr. Palmer started in pursuit, buthad not gone far before he observed a Duck Hawk flying along onlyabout 20 yards overhead. Both man and hawk continued along in thismanner for some 300 yards, when the wounded Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The northern goshawk is a medium-large raptor in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. As a species in the genus Accipiter, the goshawk is often considered a "true hawk". The scientific name is Latin; Accipiter is "hawk", from accipere, "to grasp", and gentilis is "noble" or "gentle" because in the Middle Ages only the nobility were permitted to fly goshawks for falconry.
  This species was first described under its current scientific name by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758.
  It is a widespread species that inhabits many of the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The northern goshawk is the only species in the genus Accipiter found in both Eurasia and North America. It may have the second widest distribution of any true member of the family Accipitridae, behind arguably only the golden eagle, which has a broader range to the south of Asia than the goshawk. The only other acciptrid species to also range in both North America and Eurasia according to current opinion, is the more Arctic-restricted rough-legged buzzard.
context_section_description: Northern goshawks are often near the top of the avian food chain in forested biomes but face competition for food resources from various other predators, including both birds and mammals. Comparative dietary studies have shown that mean sizes of prey, both in terms of its size relative to the raptor itself and absolute weight, for goshawks is relatively larger than in most buteonine hawks in North America and Europe. Studies show even buteonine hawks slightly larger than goshawks on average take prey weighing less than 200 g (7.1 oz) whereas average goshawk prey is usually well over such a mass. This is due largely to the much higher importance of microtine rodents to most buteonine hawks, which, despite their occasional abundance, are ignored by goshawks in most regions. Similarly, mean prey mass for sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks in North America is between about 10 and 30% of their own mass, whereas the mean prey of American goshawks is between about 25 and 50% of their own mass and therefore are the goshawks takes prey that is on average relatively much larger. In many of the ecosystems that they inhabit, northern goshawks compete with resources with other predators, particularly where they take sizeable numbers of lagomorphs. About a dozen mammalian and avian predators in each area all primarily consume European rabbits and snowshoe hares alongside goshawks in the Iberian peninsula and the American boreal forest regions where these became primary staple foods. Like those co-habitant predators, the goshawk suffers declines during the low portion in the lagomorph's breeding cycles, which rise and fall cyclically every 10 to 12 years. However, even where these are primary food sources, the northern goshawk is less specialized than many (even Bubo owls, some of the more generalist avian predators become extremely specialized lagomorph hunters locally, to a greater extent than goshawks) and can alternate their food selection, often taking equal or greater numbers of tree squirrels and woodland birds. Due to this dietary variation, the northern goshawk is less affected than other raptorial birds by prey population cycles and tends to not be depleted by resource competition.
  Despite their propensity to pursue relatively large prey and capability to pursue alternate prey, northern goshawks can be locally outcompeted for resources by species that are more adaptable and flexible, especially in terms of habitat and prey. Most northern buteonine hawks largely take small rodents such as voles (which are usually ignored by goshawks) but can adapt to nearly any other type of prey when the staple local rodent prey populations go down. Comparisons with goshawks and red-tailed hawk nesting in abutting areas of Arizona (other large common Buteos like Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsonii) and ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) utilize open habitats and so do not come into conflict with goshawks) shows the red-tailed hawks as being able to take a broader range of prey than goshawks and nest in more varied habitats, the latter species being perhaps the most commonly seen, widespread and adaptable of diurnal American raptors. On occasion, goshawks are robbed of their prey by a diversity of other birds, including harriers, other hawks, eagles, falcons and even gulls.
  Northern goshawks from North America are less prone to nesting outside of mature forests and take larger numbers of mammals as opposed to abundant birds than in Europe. This may be in part due to heavier competition from a greater diversity of raptors in North America. In Europe, the goshawk only co-exists with the much smaller sparrowhawk within its own genus, while in North America, it lives with the intermediately-sized Cooper's hawk. The latter species much more readily nests in semi-open and developed areas of North America than goshawks there and hunts a broad assemblage of medium-sized birds, whereas such prey is more readily available to male goshawks from Europe than to goshawks in North America. Although the Cooper's hawk usually avoids and loses individual contests a
caption: Illustration of the formidable talons and beak, which are both proportionately large relative to their size, and give them a predatory advantage over many other raptors
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