BILL CLARK
Did You Know?
- The New Caledonia Goshawk is also known as the White-bellied Goshawk or the White-bellied Sparrowhawk.
- The local name for this species, "Katabeialek," means "eater of small chickens"
How The Peregrine Fund is Helping
Though The Peregrine Fund doesn't work directly with the New Caledonia Goshawk, our efforts in scientific research, habitat conservation, education, and community development help conserve birds of prey around the world. We also supply literature to researchers from our avian research library, which helps scientists around the world gather and share important information on raptor conservation. Additionally, our support of the Global Raptor Information Network gives raptor researchers tools to more efficiently conduct their own studies while contributing to a global program. It also provides citizen scientists a way to participate in raptor science and conservation.
Where They Live
Like the Ridgway's Hawk or the Galapagos Hawk, the New Caledonia Goshawk is an island endemic. This means they live on just one island (or island chain) and aren't found anywhere else on earth. In the case of the New Caledonia Goshawk, you have probably already guessed on which island it lives. If you said "New Caledonia" - the island chain in the south Pacific - you would be correct!
Though the entire distribution of this species is quite limited, it can be found in a relatively large number of habitats from tropical and subtropical moist lowland forest to dry savannah, shrubland and in some cases, even heavily disturbed forest. Warner (op cit.) described this species as "extremely shy and wary," probably as the result of constant persecution by the island residents.
What They Do
The New Caledonia Goshawk is a stunning black and white bird of prey. Its belly is pure white and its throat, head and back are coal-black. It is yellow unfeathered legs, and a reddish-orange eye.
The call of this medium-sized accipiter has been described as very fast and very high pitched.
Why They Need our Help
According to the IUCN, the New Caledonia Goshawk is Near Threatened - meaning it might be threatened with extinction in the near future. The species faces a number of threats including the loss or degradation of its habitat. Additionally, because it does prey on chickens, it is often killed by humans when it approaches inhabited areas.
What they eat
The New Caledonia Goshawk has a long list of animals on its dinner menu. It feeds on invertebrates, like grasshoppers and beetles, as well as reptiles (mainly lizards), rats and even birds, including chickens and cockatiels.
Nest, Eggs and Young
The New Caledonia Goshawk likely breeds from September to December.
Though there isn't much information about the breeding biology of this species, based on some observations, we know that the pair will build a stick nest. One nest that researchers found was located 40 ft (12.2 m) above a rocky, dry stream bed on a large horizontal limb of a huge banyan tree.
At another nest, researchers found 3 eggs which were dull white with some evenly-distributed brownish-red markings.
The New Caledonia Goshawk and the World Center for Birds of Prey
The World Center for Birds of Prey offers fun ways to learn about birds of prey. Interactive activities, tours, interesting videos and a children's room with activities from coloring sheets to quizzes to costumes are all available for our guests. We also have knowledgeable, on-site staff to answer any questions you may have.
Though our World Center for Birds of Prey is quite far away from the New Caledonia Goshawk's distribution, the Northern Goshawk can be found in Idaho year-round. They nest in large trees within the Sawtooth National Forest located only a few hours away from The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey.
References:
BirdLife International 2016. Accipiter haplochrous . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22695541A93514419. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695541A93514419.en
Debus, S., G. M. Kirwan, and D. A. Christie (2020). New Caledonia Goshawk (Accipiter haplochrous), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.necgos1.01
Global Raptor Information Network. 2020. Species account: New Caledonia Goshawk Accipiter haplochrous. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 18 Mar. 2020
