The rarest bird of prey: “eats cockatoos for breakfast”

The Red Goshawk is considered to be the rarest of Australia’s bird population. Many years ago, it was a common sight in the skies of northern and eastern Australia but now it has disappeared altogether from some parts of the country.

Which is why a recent spotting of the species has caused so much excitement among ecologists, conservationists and bird enthusiasts.

First sighting of a red goshawk in Newhaven in 30 years

Tim Henderson, who works as a wildlife ecologist at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Northern Territory, , west of Alice Springs, stumbled across a red goshawk by chance while conducting a survey of native predators in the wild.

It is the first sighting of the endangered bird in the region for three decades.

“Last week I was out radio-tracking some possums in the northern part of the sanctuary when I saw this large, reddish-brown bird of prey flying overhead, which looked different to any species I’d expect to see out here,” Henderson told Alice Spring News. This record adds another piece to the puzzle".

The red goshawk was listed as endangered in 2023, with numbers having dropped by more than a third. It is believed that the species is now extinct in New South Wales and the southern half of Queensland.

Ecologists are still trying to determine the reasons behind their decline although likely factors include: disease, low reproductive rates and low infant survival rates.

What does the red goshawk feed on?

A predator par excellence, it hunts a wide range of prey, mostly birds, including rainbow lorikeets, sulphur-crested cockatoos and blue-winged kookaburras.

The sighting in Newhaven is significant because the sanctuary is such a long way from where Red Goshawks are believed to be breeding.

Cockatoos for breakfast

As Dr Richard Seaton, a senior ecologist at Birdlife Australia explained: “It has beautiful, barred plumage; long, broad wings with finger-like feathers; and big feet and talons for hunting other birds. They’re quite fearsome. There are not too many predators that would take on a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, but this thing eats them for breakfast.

“It’s an ambush predator, sitting in the branches under the canopy waiting for birds like lorikeets, cockatoos and even kookaburras to pass by. They are incredibly fast and impressive flyers and can chase down prey from a standing start.

“GPS tracking has shown young birds regularly move inland after leaving the nest around December and January, and this photo not only validates this, but provides the opportunity to learn more about what these birds are up to in the arid zone. Although we have a good idea of what they are feeding on in the tropics where they are more usually found. What they eat during these forays inland is entirely unknown.”

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