Northern Goshawk ( Accipiter Gentilis ) Population Analysis and Food Habits Study in the Independence and Bull Run Mountains, Nevada
The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis, henceforth goshawk) is the largest North American member of the genus Accipiter. Like other accipiters, the goshawk has short, broad wings and a long tail and is well adapted to hunting in woodlands (Palmer 1988). It is a sit-and-wait predator that frequentl...
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ScholarWorks
2004
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| Online Access: | https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/439 https://boisestate.on.worldcat.org/v2/oclc/61734127 |
| Summary: | The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis, henceforth goshawk) is the largest North American member of the genus Accipiter. Like other accipiters, the goshawk has short, broad wings and a long tail and is well adapted to hunting in woodlands (Palmer 1988). It is a sit-and-wait predator that frequently switches perches and often uses stealth and cover while hunting, and will chase prey through vegetation (Squires and Reynolds 1997). Despite its use of trees for nesting, the goshawk will hunt in open habitats. A variety of prey items is taken, including medium-sized passerines (e.g., American Robin, Turdus migratorius, and Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus; Younk and Bechard 1994), tree and ground squirrels (e.g., red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, and Belding's ground squirrel, Spermophilus beldingi; Reynolds et al. 1994, Younk and Bechard 1994), galliformes (e.g., Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus; Bosakowski and Smith 1992), and lagomorphs (e.g., snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus; Doyle and Smith 1994, Watson et al. 1998). Typically associated with mature and old-growth conifer forests (Squires and Reynolds 1997), goshawks have been found breeding in a variety of habitats including conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest (Reynolds et al. 1982, Finn et al. 2002); ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona (Reynolds and Joy 1998); mixed conifer forests of east-central Arizona (Ingraldi 1998); hardwood and conifer forests of New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin (Speiser and Bosakowski 1987, Rosenfield et al. 1998); and tundra in Alaska (Swem and Adams 1992). In northern Nevada, goshawks breed in naturally-fragmented, high-elevation aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands that are typically surrounded by sagebrush steppe habitat (Younk and Bechard 1994). Several studies have addressed goshawk nesting habitat and generally agree that goshawks prefer larger diameter, mature trees for nesting, and nest stands typically have a relatively high degree of canopy closure and an open ... |
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