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Fun Facts
Did You Know?
Understanding the Northern Goshawk requires placing the bird within the context of North Louisiana's two common accipiters — Cooper's hawk and sharp-shinned hawk — because any goshawk that appears in the region will initially be assessed against these two familiar species. A goshawk is essentially a Cooper's hawk scaled up to red-tailed hawk size, with the same body proportions (short rounded wings, long tail) but a heavier build, wider tail, and more powerful flight that reflects the goshawk's position as the apex predator of the accipiter guild. An adult goshawk's pale gray underparts with…
If This Animal Could Talk...
"Watch closely, respect my space, and let my habitat explain the rest of the story."
Louisiana has exactly one confirmed record of a Northern Goshawk — a female banded in Wisconsin and recovered 1,860 kilometers away in Louisiana, representing the species' first and, as of this writing, only documented occurrence in the state. Accipiter gentilis (recently split into the American Goshawk for New World populations) is the largest accipiter in the world, a powerful forest predator that breeds in mature forests from Alaska through Canada and south into the northern United States and the western mountains. North Louisiana sits hundreds of miles south of the species' normal range, and the goshawk's appearance here qualifies as a genuine vagrant event rather than a regular occurrence — more lottery ticket than birding strategy. Including the Northern Goshawk on this website reflects the species' presence on North Louisiana Wildlife's site map and the reality that birders should know what a goshawk looks like on the unlikely chance that one appears. Goshawk irruptions — southward movements triggered by prey population crashes on the breeding grounds — push birds far south of their normal range every decade or so, and a birder who knows the species' field marks can recognize a vagrant goshawk amid the Cooper's hawks and red-shouldered hawks that normally occupy North Louisiana's forests.
A Few More Facts
How they hunt and forage: Northern Goshawks hunt prey in a size range that neither Cooper's hawks nor sharp-shinned hawks can handle — squirrels, rabbits, hares, grouse, corvids, and woodpeckers up to pileated woodpecker size. A goshawk hunting a gray squirrel through a North Louisiana bottomland forest (in the hypothetical event that a goshawk appears in the region) would pursue the squirrel through the canopy with deep, powerful wingbeats, crashing through small branches and navigating around tree trunks with an aggression and determination that Cooper's hawks — which occasionally take squirrels but cannot match the goshawk's power — do not display. Ground-dwelling prey — rabbits, hares, grouse — are taken by a diving attack from an elevated perch or by a low-level pursuit flight that carries the goshawk across open ground between forest patches. The combination of aerial agility (for canopy pursuit) and ground-attack capability (for open-area hunting) makes the goshawk a versatile predator that can exploit prey species across the full range of forest and edge habitats. In the northern forests where goshawks breed, snowshoe hare populations follow a roughly 10-year cycle of boom and bust, and goshawk breeding success, territory density, and irruptive migration patterns track the hare cycle closely. A hare crash on the breeding grounds reduces goshawk food supply, triggering the southward irruptive movements that occasionally carry individual birds as far as Louisiana.
Live birth or eggs? no
When young are born: See the detailed species sections below.
What Is the Northern Goshawk Often Confused With?
Northern Goshawks are large, powerful accipiters — 21 to 26 inches long, with a wingspan of 40 to 46 inches and a weight of 1.5 to 3 pounds. Females, as with all accipiters, are substantially larger than males. Adults are distinctive: slate-gray above, finely barred pale gray below, with a bold white eyebrow stripe (supercilium) over red or orange eyes that gives the bird a fierce, intense expression unlike any other North American hawk. The goshawk's size alone separates the species from the other two North American accipiters. A Cooper's hawk is roughly crow-sized; a sharp-shinned hawk is blue-jay-sized. A goshawk is roughly the size of a red-tailed hawk — a massive accipiter that dwarfs its smaller relatives and hunts prey (squirrels, rabbits, grouse, jays, woodpeckers) that the smaller accipiters cannot handle. Juvenile goshawks are brown above with heavy brown streaking below — a plumage that resembles juvenile Cooper's hawks closely enough to create identification challenges for birders who have never seen a goshawk and are not expecting one. Juvenile goshawks show a pale eyebrow stripe and a proportionally larger, blockier head than Cooper's hawks, but separating the two species at a distance requires experience and favorable viewing conditions. The tail is long and broad — wider than the tails of Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinneds, proportionally — and the wings, while short and rounded like all accipiters, are longer and broader than the smaller species'. In flight, the goshawk's combination of large size, broad wings, and wide tail creates a silhouette that looks heavier and more powerful than a Cooper's hawk, with a flight style that includes deeper, more deliberate wingbeats.
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Accessibility
Accessibility
Northern Goshawks do not provide accessible encounters in North Louisiana because the species does not regularly occur in the region. A vagrant goshawk appearing during an irruption year would likely be detected visually in a mature forest setting, and the large size, bold white eyebrow, and gray plumage of an adult would identify the species for any observer familiar with the bird's field marks.
For visitors who wish to see a goshawk, travel to the species' breeding range — mature forests of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New England, or the western mountain states — provides the most reliable encounter opportunity. Within North Louisiana, the goshawk remains a species to know about rather than a species to expect.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Northern Goshawks live in North Louisiana?
Yes. North Louisiana sits hundreds of miles south of the species' normal range, and the goshawk's appearance here qualifies as a genuine vagrant event rather than a regular occurrence — more lottery ticket than birding strategy. Including the Northern Goshawk on this website reflects the species' presence on North Louisiana Wildlife's site map and the reality that birders should know what a goshawk looks like on the unlikely chance that one appears.
Goshawk irruptions — southward movements triggered by prey population crashes on the breeding grounds — push birds far south of their normal range every decade or so, and a birder who knows the species' field marks can recognize a vagrant goshawk amid the Cooper's hawks and red-shouldered hawks that normally occupy North Louisiana's forests.
How do you identify Northern Goshawks?
Northern Goshawks are large, powerful accipiters — 21 to 26 inches long, with a wingspan of 40 to 46 inches and a weight of 1.5 to 3 pounds. Females, as with all accipiters, are substantially larger than males. Adults are distinctive: slate-gray above, finely barred pale gray below, with a bold white eyebrow stripe (supercilium) over red or orange eyes that gives the bird a fierce, intense expression unlike any other North American hawk. The goshawk's size alone separates the species from the other two North American accipiters. A Cooper's hawk is roughly crow-sized; a sharp-shinned hawk is blue-jay-sized. A goshawk is roughly the size of a red-tailed hawk — a massive accipiter that dwarfs its smaller relatives and hunts prey (squirrels, rabbits, grouse, jays, woodpeckers) that the smaller accipiters cannot handle. Juvenile goshawks are brown above with heavy brown streaking below — a plumage that resembles juvenile Cooper's hawks closely enough to create identification challenges for birders who have never seen a goshawk and are not expecting one. Juvenile goshawks show a pale eyebrow stripe and a proportionally larger, blockier head than Cooper's hawks, but separating the two species at a distance requires experience and favorable viewing conditions. The tail is long and broad — wider than the tails of Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinneds, proportionally — and the wings, while short and rounded like all accipiters, are longer and broader than the smaller species'. In flight, the goshawk's combination of large size, broad wings, and wide tail creates a silhouette that looks heavier and more powerful than a Cooper's hawk, with a flight style that includes deeper, more deliberate wingbeats.
What does Northern Goshawks eat?
Prey and Hunting
Northern Goshawks hunt prey in a size range that neither Cooper's hawks nor sharp-shinned hawks can handle — squirrels, rabbits, hares, grouse, corvids, and woodpeckers up to pileated woodpecker size.
A goshawk hunting a gray squirrel through a North Louisiana bottomland forest (in the hypothetical event that a goshawk appears in the region) would pursue the squirrel through the canopy with deep, powerful wingbeats, crashing through small branches and navigating around tree trunks with an aggression and determination that Cooper's hawks — which occasionally take squirrels but cannot match the goshawk's power — do not display.
Ground-dwelling prey — rabbits, hares, grouse — are taken by a diving attack from an elevated perch or by a low-level pursuit flight that carries the goshawk across open ground between forest patches. The combination of aerial agility (for canopy pursuit) and ground-attack capability (for open-area hunting) makes the goshawk a versatile predator that can exploit prey species across the full range of forest and edge habitats.
In the northern forests where goshawks breed, snowshoe hare populations follow a roughly 10-year cycle of boom and bust, and goshawk breeding success, territory density, and irruptive migration patterns track the hare cycle closely. A hare crash on the breeding grounds reduces goshawk food supply, triggering the southward irruptive movements that occasionally carry individual birds as far as Louisiana.
Is Northern Goshawks dangerous to people?
No. This species is not dangerous to people when it is observed without handling or disturbance
