Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Pair of Crested Goshawk at NCKU

Last weekend, I was lucky to spot a pair of Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus, 鳳頭蒼鷹) at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. It was my first experience of spotting a pair of Crested Goshawk. 

It's an opportunity for me to learn how to distinguish the male and the female Crested Goshawk in the field. I learned that the size of the female Crested Goshawk is larger as compared to the male. From my observation and comparison through the digiscoped pictures and field book, I noticed the male has smaller body size as compared to the female, it has shorter crest and round head. The male has distinctive yellowish lines near the nostril and the upper beak. 

Let's take a closer look at the pictures of the pair.

The male:

and the female:


Besides that, I also heard the call that I have never heard of : "chiup.. chiup..chiup", an alarm call from one of them when I was trying to approach nearer.



Boon Eu, 16-March-2011, Tainan, Taiwan.

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