Falcon are large and the largest and bulkiest of the accipiters. They have broad, rounded wings and long tails. Relatively long secondary flight feathers give the trailing edge of the wing a curved or bulging look; the wingtips can look pointed in flight.
The northern goshawk is a medium-large raptor in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. As a species in the genus Accipiter, the goshawk is often consider a “true hawk”.The scientific name is Latin; Accipiter is “hawk”, from accident, “to grasp”, and gentilis is “noble” or “gentle” because in the Middle Ages only the nobility was permit to fly goshawks for falconry.
Adult goshawks are dark slate gray above with pale gray barred underparts. They have a dark head with a wide white stripe over the eye; the eye is orange to red. Immatures are brown and streaky, with narrow dark bands in the tail. They have an indistinct pale eyebrow stripe and yellow eyes. Females are larger than males.Goshawks are stealthy predators that watch for prey on high perches and then attack with quick, agile flight, even through dense trees or cluttered understory. They fly with a few relatively slow wingbeats interspersed with short glides. Goshawks are birds of wild forests and tend to occur in large tracts. Across much of their range they live mainly in coniferous forests, but they may occur in deciduous hardwood forest as well (such as in the northeastern U.S.).
