Northern Goshawk

The Northern Goshawk is the largest of the accipiter hawks, a fierce and powerful forest predator found across northern and mountainous forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Adults are blue-gray above with fine, pale gray barring below, a bold white stripe over the eye, and intense red eyes that give the bird a particularly striking, fierce expression.

Juveniles look quite different, brown above with coarse brown streaking below and yellow eyes, closely resembling an oversized juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Goshawks are famously secretive and aggressive defenders of their nesting territory.

Key field marks

• Large size, noticeably bigger and bulkier than Cooper's Hawk
• Adult: blue-gray back, fine pale barring below, bold white eyebrow, red eyes
• Juvenile: brown above, coarse streaking below, yellow eyes
• Broad-chested, powerful build with a relatively short, broad tail

Similar species

Cooper's Hawk is notably smaller and slimmer with less prominent (or absent) pale eyebrow markings and finer, more rufous barring in adults. Juvenile Goshawk can be told from juvenile Cooper's Hawk by its larger size, bulkier build, and a more prominent pale eyebrow stripe, though the two can be genuinely difficult to separate.

Habitat

Requires large, contiguous tracts of mature forest, both coniferous and mixed, with a relatively open understory that allows for fast flight in pursuit of prey.

Range

A Holarctic species, found across boreal and mountain forests of North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, breeds across Canada, Alaska, and mountainous and northern forested regions of the United States. Generally non-migratory or only partially migratory, though northern birds may move south irregularly in years of prey scarcity (irruptions).

Behavior

An extremely powerful and agile hunter, the Northern Goshawk pursues prey with fast, direct flight through dense forest, capable of remarkable bursts of speed and maneuverability, and is renowned for its fierce, aggressive defense of the nest against intruders, including humans.

Voice

Gives a loud, harsh, repeated "kak-kak-kak-kak" alarm call near the nest, among the most intimidating vocalizations of any North American raptor.

Feeding and nesting

Diet includes mid-sized birds such as grouse, corvids, and woodpeckers, along with mammals like hares and squirrels. Builds a large stick nest high in a mature tree, often reusing the same nest site across multiple years, and defends the nesting area vigorously, sometimes striking intruders that venture too close.