Dark chanting goshawk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dark chanting goshawk |
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| Adult at Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa | |
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The dark chanting goshawk (Melierax metabates) is a cool bird of prey. It belongs to the Accipitridae family, which includes hawks and eagles. You can find this bird in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Arabia. There's also a small group in southern Morocco, but their numbers are going down.
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What Does It Look Like?
The dark chanting goshawk is a medium-sized hawk. It looks strong and often stands very straight. Its head, chest, and upper body are dark grey. The rest of its underside is white with thin black stripes.
Its main wing feathers are black. Its tail has wide black and white stripes. The skin around its beak (called the cere) and its long legs are orange-red. Female goshawks are usually bigger than males. Females can weigh up to 840 grams, while males weigh up to 700 grams.
Young goshawks look a bit different. They have browner feathers, similar to a buzzard. But their wide wings and long tail show they are a type of accipiter.
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A young dark chanting goshawk
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M. m. metabates with its meal (a francolin) in Senegal
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A dark chanting goshawk at the MHNT museum
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Its Voice
This bird is known for being quite noisy, or "vocal," as its name suggests. It often calls out from a tree branch or while flying. It makes a series of quick, whistling sounds. People describe these sounds as a song or a chant. It can make up to twelve notes in a row, like peeu-peeu-pu-pu-pu. It also makes a high-pitched peee-u sound. They are much louder during their breeding season.
Where Do They Live and Their Types?
Dark chanting goshawks live and raise their young in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they avoid the thick rainforests of the Congo Basin. They also stay away from the far south of Africa. In these areas, other types of chanting goshawks live instead.
There are five main types, or subspecies, of the dark chanting goshawk:
- Melierax metabates metabates: Found from Senegal and The Gambia east to Ethiopia. They also live south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Tanzania.
- Melierax metabates neumanni: Lives from Mali east to northern Sudan.
- Melierax metabates theresae: Found only in south-west Morocco.
- Melierax metabates ignoscens: Lives in south-western Arabia, including south-western Saudi Arabia and western Yemen.
- Melierax metabates mechowi: Found from south-eastern Gabon to Angola. Also in southern Tanzania south to northern Namibia and north-eastern South Africa.
Where Do They Like to Live?
Dark chanting goshawks prefer open areas like savannahs and woodlands. They especially like mixed bushland and forests with wide-leafed trees. They do not like dense forests or deserts. In southern Africa, they live in tall, well-developed woodlands. They particularly like areas with trees like miombo (Brachystegia spp), mopane (Colosphermum mopane), and Marula (Sclerocarya birrea).
How Do They Live?
The dark chanting goshawk eats many different animals. These include mammals, birds, and reptiles. They usually hunt from a high spot, like a tree branch. From there, they swoop down to catch their prey on the ground or in the air.
Sometimes, they follow other animals like honey badgers, Southern ground-hornbills, dogs, or even people. They catch the small animals that these larger creatures scare out of hiding. Some of the biggest animals they have caught include helmeted guineafowl and dwarf mongoose.
These goshawks build their nests in their own special area. Both the male and female help build the nest in a tree. It's a flat platform made of sticks, with a slight dip in the middle. They often decorate it with spider webs and sometimes use mud to hold it together. They might line the nest with many different things, like animal fur, plant bits, or even human-made items.
Females usually lay one or two eggs, sometimes three. This happens from July to November, with most eggs laid from August to October. The female sits on the eggs for about 36 to 38 days to keep them warm. During this time, the male brings her food. Once the chicks hatch, the female stays with them and guards them. The male continues to hunt and bring all the food. The young birds are ready to fly after about 50 days. They become fully independent about 3 to 8 months later. They leave their home area when the next breeding season begins.
About Their Family Tree
Some scientists think that all chanting goshawks are just one species. Others group the dark chanting goshawk with two other types, calling them the pale chanting goshawk.
Are They Safe?
The dark chanting goshawk is found in many places and is quite common. So, it is not considered in danger globally. However, the two groups of goshawks living in Morocco and the Arabian Peninsula are at risk. This is because their woodland homes are being cut down. The type found in south-western Morocco, Melierax metabates theresae, is almost gone. This is due to trees being cut down and hunting. Because the species is so widespread, Birdlife International says it is of "Least Concern." This means it's not currently threatened with extinction.
