Thursday, 18 September 2025
As Bird of the Year heats up, we’re spotlighting some of the most extraordinary species in the running, like the Red Goshawk. To kick off, we spoke with Jessica Rooke, BirdLife Australia’s NSW Threatened Species Coordinator, about why this powerful bird of prey deserves your vote – and your support.
Voting is open for Guardian/Birdlife Australia Bird of the Year 2025. Vote for your favourite now!
The Red Goshawk is Australia’s rarest bird of prey – a powerful predator with fearsome golden eyes and huge yellow feet built to capture other birds mid-flight! Yet despite its strength, the Red Goshawk is now Endangered, having vanished from two-thirds of its historical breeding range. Its decline is a stark reminder of how quickly even the most powerful species can vanish if their habitat isn’t protected. By voting for the Red Goshawk, you’re helping shine a light on its story and the urgent need to safeguard remaining habitat.
Red Goshawks are striking birds. They have long, broad wings, powerful, yellow feet, and rich reddish-brown plumage on the body, with bold streaking on the chest and strongly barred underwings and tail. In flight they’re impressively agile, able to weave swiftly through trees in pursuit of prey, yet they can also glide gracefully above the canopy on slightly raised wings.
Once widespread across northern and eastern Australia, the Red Goshawk has disappeared from much of its former range. Today, it persists only in the tropical savannahs of northern Australia and faces ongoing threats from habitat clearance and altered fire regimes. Conservation efforts are focused on improving our understanding of the Red Goshawk’s population status, ecology, and key threats, so we can deliver effective, on-ground actions to protect and restore its populations. The Red Goshawk’s survival depends on urgent and sustained conservation action.
BirdLife Australia has been central in drawing national attention to the Red Goshawk’s decline. We’re leading a project with Indigenous Ranger Groups to survey and monitor Red Goshawks across their range, while also supporting a University of Queensland led PhD researching the species’ ecology. Working together with Indigenous Ranger Groups, local communities, researchers, government agencies, NGOs, NRM organisations and volunteers, BirdLife is helping to locate breeding pairs, protect key habitats, and monitor population trends. We’re also advocating for stronger habitat protections and amplifying community involvement – helping to secure a future for this remarkable raptor.
A powerful, mid-sized, rufous-brown hawk of northern Australia, the Red Goshawk often perches in the foliage trees. It's Australia’s rarest bird of prey.
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