Last updated on 1-Oct 2025
The Red Goshawk is Australia’s rarest bird of prey. This powerful, mid-sized raptor of northern Australia is elusive, often remaining concealed among the foliage high in the canopy of the forest. It hunts mainly birds. Red Goshawks inhabit tropical and subtropical forests and woodlands, especially along edges between habitats, making them highly vulnerable to habitat loss.
The Red Goshawk is a medium-sized, powerful raptor with a wingspan of up to 1.3 m. It is red-brown overall, with bold, arrowhead-shaped, black chequering on the upperparts. The head and throat are pale with fine streaks, contrasting with a rich rufous breast and underparts. In flight, the broad wings appear deeply “fingered” and two-toned below: pale grey barred flight feathers against rufous body feathers. Females are larger and heavier than males, with paler underparts and thicker legs. Juveniles are redder overall, with a fully rufous head and face, brown eyes instead of yellow, and paler legs and feet.
Females give a harsh, strident call, featuring a repeated crowing ‘arhk-arhk-awk’. Males give a similar call, but it’s higher pitched. Occasionally, an alarm call is given: an explosive ‘geg-eg-eg’. Various other cacking and raucous shrieks are also sometimes given. Call recording by Pieter de Groot Boersma, XC327170 – via xeno-canto.org.
The Red Goshawk was once widespread but now survives in scattered populations across northern Australia. It occurs from the Kimberley in Western Australia, through the Top End of the Northern Territory to the Cape York Peninsula and north-eastern Queensland, with older records in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. Within this range it is rare and localised, favouring forests and woodlands near rivers, or the edges of these habitats. Juveniles disperse widely after they fledge, sometimes travelling well beyond known breeding areas.
Habitat: Woodland, Forest
The Red Goshawk inhabits tropical and warm-temperate forests and woodlands, usually near permanent water, often at the boundary between two vegetation types. They nest in tall, old-growth trees with horizontal limbs that can support large stick nests and hunting perches. In northern Australia, favoured sites include tall Darwin Stringybark woodlands on plateaus and rises, and Weeping Paperbarks along creeks and ephemeral waterways. Such specialised requirements make Red Goshawks vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation.
Adult Red Goshawks are most active early and late in the day, often roosting quietly in dense shade at midday. Although Red Goshawk often spend much time obscured among the foliage of trees, they are usually seen soaring over forests and swamps, or gliding back and forth, low across open areas and the edges of forests. It hunts mainly medium-sized birds, but also takes reptiles, small mammals, and insects.
Pairs hold large, year-round territories and are probably monogamous. Courtship involves soaring and display flights, mutual calling, and food exchange.
Juvenile goshawks may disperse widely, sometimes travelling for hundreds of kilometres away from their natal area.
The Red Goshawk is a specialist bird-hunter, targeting lorikeets, kookaburras and cockatoos; they occasionally take other types of prey, but these comprise a miniscule proportion of their diet. Females capture larger prey than males, with prey size increasing later in the breeding season. Attacks are swift and varied – diving onto prey from height, tail-chasing birds beneath the canopy, or striking prey in mid-air.
Breeding occurs mainly during the dry season (June-November). Nests – large platforms of sticks, lined with twigs and fresh eucalyptus leaves – are built high in tall, old-growth trees. Building can take several weeks, and nests may be reused in successive years. Laying one or two bluish-white eggs, the female incubates them for up to 43 days while the male feeds her. Both parents feed the chicks until fledging. The young are mostly fed by the female, but most of the food is provided by the male. The young fledge after 7-8 weeks but remain dependent on their parents for several months. Breeding success is low, with pairs fledging about one chick per season.
Red Goshawks are difficult to distinguish from other species of raptors in flight, and may be confused with Square-tailed Kites, female Swamp Harriers, larger rufous Brown Falcons, and potentially also juvenile Spotted Harriers and dark-morph Little Eagles.
