African goshawk

The African goshawk (Aerospiza tachiro) is an African species of bird of prey in the genus Aerospiza. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. The African goshawk was previously sometimes split with the red-chested goshawk (Aerospiza toussenelii) of west Africa treated as a separate species.

The African goshawk is a medium to large-sized hawk which is mainly grey and rufous with the typical broad-winged and long-tailed shape of its genus. The adult has grey upperparts which tend to be darker in males than in females, the underparts are whitish marked with rufous barring which is more pronounced in males. The underwing is pale rufous, fading to white on some birds and the flight feathers and tail vary from sooty brown to grey with faint grey bars above, white with grey bars below. The bill is black, the cere is greenish-grey, the eyes are yellow, and the legs and feet are yellow. Juveniles are brown above with whitish unterparts and flanks which are boldly blotched with brown. Females weigh 270–510 g (9.5–18.0 oz), while the smaller males weigh 150–340 g (5.3–12.0 oz). The wingspan is 1.7 times the bird's total length and 440–570 mm (17.2–22.5 in) in males and 540–700 mm (21.1–27.5 in) in females.

It is noisy when displaying. Its characteristic clicking call is omitted every 2–3 seconds and sounds to the human ear like two stones being knocked together.