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Today on animal fact files we're talking about African goshawks. Make a squawk and subscribe, and thank you to Nicolas Oliver Taylor for today's request. It’s probably unsurprising, but these birds of prey live in Africa. They can be found in most parts of central and southern African, though they seem to be more spread out over the eastern side of the continent. African goshawks are sometimes considered to be the same species as the very similar red chested goshawk who may share overlapping territory. Currently, they are separated into different species, but new data may eventually seen them being placed in the same taxon.

African goshawks inhabit dense, typically wet, forest areas, sticking mostly to lowland jungles, but they can live in appropriate habitats anywhere from more than half a mile (2.4 kilometers) up to sea level. They’ve also taken advantage of man made gardens where they can easily sit atop roosts to search for prey. It’s not uncommon to see an African goshawk flying high above it’s range in the early morning as it wakes up its body for the day. African goshawks are predators to other birds including shrikes and falcons. They will also take small mammals like squirrels and bats and sometimes even reptiles and arthropods. As is typical with birds of prey, the lady African goshawks are larger, and they will often take larger meals than the males.

African goshawks have specialized wings for hunting in their dense habitats. Instead of coming to a point, their wings are rounded and short, giving them more maneuverability between trees. Their large tails act like a rudder in flight, and they can turn without first needing to slow down. This trait has made them a popular bird for falconry. African goshawks themselves can be taken by other birds of prey like peregrine falcons.

In some areas where African goshawks occur they may breed almost year round, though they do tend to have a season in which they are more receptive to raising young. A pair remains monogamous during their lifetimes and one or both of the individuals will put on a mating display for their partner. These displays can end with steep dives in which African goshawks can reach more than 130 miles per hour (209 kilometers per hour). That’s about double the top speed of a cheetah. After these displays, the pair will go about building a nest or fixing up a nest from the previous season. African goshawks prefer to nest in trees with lots of leaves, usually choosing a site further away from the tree’s trunk. In the nest, the female will lay one to three eggs which she will mainly incubate. During the incubation the male will bring the female food. It takes just over a month for the babies to hatch, another month for them to leave the nest, and then a further few weeks for them to leave their parent’s territory and find their own place to roost.

Besides this initial journey the young African goshawks take, these birds are generally sedentary in their homelands and aren’t really known to migrate. They’ll typically begin having their own babies at about seven years of age, and we weren’t able to find any information on how long these birds live in the wild, though, considering they’re birds it’s likely at the very least a few years.

For more facts on African goshawks, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.