By Mariano Gómez · Updated on 10 October 2026

Birds

Eurasian Goshawk, the ghost hunter of the woods

Accipiter gentilisHear its song0:20

Photo gallery of the Eurasian Goshawk

Identification of the Eurasian Goshawk

It is a medium-sized raptor with markedly woodland habits, with marked reversed sexual dimorphism: females are quite a bit bulkier than males. In plumage the differences are more subtle: the male is dark grey above, with the breast and underside of the wings finely barred; the female is somewhat browner above, has a less contrasting head and coarser barring below. Both show a marked eyebrow. Young birds are brown above and pale brown or reddish below, with abundant lengthwise spots, and do not acquire adult plumage until three years.

Adult

• Male: dark grey above, finely barred below.
• Female: larger, browner, with coarser barring.
• Marked eyebrow in both sexes.

Young bird

• Brown above and pale brown or reddish below, with lengthwise spots.

Habitat and distribution of the Eurasian Goshawk

It is widely distributed across the northern hemisphere: it breeds in North America, in Europe and in a broad strip of central Asia, almost to its far east. Several subspecies are recognised, and in Spain «gentilis», that of continental Europe, lives.

It occupies much of the Peninsula, more continuously in the northern half, except the Ebro valley, and quite fragmented in the south, where there is less forest. In the north it uses any wooded area, even the isolated pine copses of the Meseta, and in the south it takes refuge above all in the sierras; the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Spain (MITECO, 2003) cites the Montes de Toledo among them. It is almost entirely absent from the Guadalquivir valley, the south-east, the more open areas of Extremadura and much of the southern Meseta, and is not on the archipelagos, Ceuta or Melilla.

It is closely tied to woodland, but without preferring one type or another, and settles from sea level up to 2,000 metres in any spot with trees to nest and shelter in and with prey: also in holm oak woods, fragmented or plantation pine woods, isolated copses and gallery woods of the plateaus. It is resident: adults are sedentary and young birds only make short movements until they find a territory.

Etymology of the Eurasian Goshawk

According to Wikipedia, it is now placed in the genus «Astur», revived from Lacépède (1799). The scientific name is Latin: «astur» means «hawk», and «gentilis», «noble», because in the Middle Ages only the nobility could hunt with goshawks. In other languages it is called «astor comú» in Catalan, «azor común» in Galician, «aztore eurasiarra» in Basque and «northern goshawk» in English¹.

Population of the Eurasian Goshawk

In the 2021 European Red List of Birds the European population is estimated at between 234,000 and 380,000 adult individuals, with a decreasing trend. In Spain there is no current estimate: the two earlier ones range from the 3,500–6,500 pairs of the 2003 census to the 11,350 sure territories of the 2009–2010 one, with the best contingents in Galicia and Castilla y León. No general trend can be established: it seems stable in the northern half, has dropped in the Sierra de Guadarrama and has colonised other areas, such as Doñana.

For a long time persecution by hunters was its main cause of death, and shooting still causes losses, above all where there is heavy hunting pressure or it is accused of hunting domestic pigeons. It is also one of the raptors most affected by electrocution, the main threat in some regions, and suffers from the robbing of chicks for falconry, pesticides, diseases of domestic pigeons, competition with the Eagle-Owl, fires and poor management of mature woodland.

Nest of the Eurasian Goshawk

The pair builds a nest or repairs one of the several platforms it keeps in its territory, normally refurbished corvid nests: an untidy structure of twigs and sticks that grows over the years and which they line with green branches.

Courtship and breeding of the Eurasian Goshawk

The breeding season begins at the end of winter, when the male soars above the wood, spreading the undertail coverts and making constant dives. The female lays three or four eggs, sometimes up to six, dirty white or bluish, and incubates them alone for 35–38 days. At first she looks after the chicks while the male brings prey; later she also goes out to hunt and the chicks spend a lot of time alone. At about 35 days they already walk on the branches near the nest, although they take somewhat longer to finish developing, males before the heavier females. A little over two months after hatching they begin to disperse.

Diet of the Eurasian Goshawk

It is a fairly generalist predator that adapts to the prey in its territory, but it strikes above all two groups: medium-sized birds, up to the size of a capercaillie, above all corvids and pigeons, and mammals such as rabbits, hares and squirrels. It is not unusual for it to hunt reptiles, small diurnal and nocturnal raptors and small carnivores such as weasels and stoats.

Curious facts about the Eurasian Goshawk

It is one of our most reputed winged hunters, able to catch prey the size of a hare, and recalls that it was used in falconry¹. According to Wikipedia, Iberian goshawks are the lightest of their race: a median of 690 grams for males and 1,050 for females. EURING lists a goshawk ringed in Sweden that lived 22 years.

The Eurasian Goshawk in Cabañeros

The habitat pages of this website do not mention it, and we have not found any other published source on it in the Park, although the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Spain (MITECO, 2003) names the Montes de Toledo among the southern sierras where it takes refuge. GBIF.org records 25 observations of the Eurasian Goshawk in Cabañeros and its surroundings.

Where to see the Eurasian Goshawk in Cabañeros

In Cabañeros and its surroundings, all year, in the wooded parts of the sierras.

When

All year: it is resident; at the end of winter the male performs his display flights over the wood.

What time

By day, though it is hard to see: it rarely rises above the treetops.

Where

In woods, holm oak woods, pine woods and gallery woods with big trees.

What to look for

Look for the very long tail, the short, rounded wings and the marked eyebrow; listen for its «kha kha kha».

Videos of the Eurasian Goshawk

Similar species

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

How to tell them apart

It is similar in song and physical appearance¹.

Photo: Boschfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0

Common Buzzard

Buteo buteo

How to tell them apart

It is not clearly similar¹. Like the Goshawk, the Common Buzzard is a raptor of the family Accipitridae.

Photo: PIPISTRELLUS Educació Ambiental, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other birds

Bibliography

• Jiménez García-Herrera, José. (2017). Aves de Cabañeros y su entorno. Madrid, Spain: Ecohábitat.
• SEO Birdlife - Sociedad Española de Ornitología
• https://es.wikipedia.org/
• Hume, Rob. (2016). Guía de campo de las Aves de España y Europa. Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones Omega