African goshawk

The African goshawk (Aerospiza tachiro) is an African bird of prey, formerly placed in the genus Accipiter until a 2024 molecular phylogenetic study found that genus to be polyphyletic and moved the species to the resurrected genus Aerospiza. It was first described in 1800 by Francois Marie Daudin from a specimen collected near Knysna in South Africa, and eight subspecies are recognised. It is a medium to large hawk with the broad wings and long tail typical of its genus, grey above and whitish below with rufous barring, yellow eyes and yellow legs. Females are larger than males. The species ranges from the Western Cape of South Africa north to the southern Democratic Republic of Congo and through east Africa to Somalia and southern Ethiopia, living in forest, dense woodland, riverine forest, plantations and large gardens. It hunts mainly birds, but also takes mammals, lizards and sometimes invertebrates, ambushing prey from a perch. Its call is a regular clicking sound, and the female builds a stick nest in dense foliage.