(Southern) Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus)
This hawk breeds in southern Africa. It is a resident species of dry, open semi-desert with 75 cm or less annual rainfall. It is commonly seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
This species is 56–65 cm long. The adult has grey upper-parts with a white rump.
Immature have brown upper-parts, with a white rump and black bars on the tail.
The Pale Chanting Goshawk eats a variety of vertebrate prey, mainly lizards, but also small mammals and birds, and large insects. It often walks on the ground.
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I was wandering how many varieties of birds there are in Africa, and you answered this in one of your comments (900). Great photos yet again. I hope you get to show them all.
It is an ambition to get as many photos as possible.. I think my positive ID stands at 388 but photos not there yet… but I’ll keep on trying…
Your beautiful pictures so often give the animals and birds such a noble quality, Bulldog, and like the other comments I also love the last shot! Great capture! 🙂
I’ve never seen a bird of prey just walking along, taking a stroll! It almost looks a little funny doing that! 🙂 But he’s still a very stately looking fellow!
They do a lot of stalking on the ground.. and to see them sneaking through grass as though they are a predator in the class of a leopard is unusual to say the least… but I actually watched this one stalk and capture it’s prey.. the photos just came out too dark to share…
Hawks are great pics. Any idea of how many different species are in your area?
Hawks or birds.?? we have nearly 900 bird specie in the country… hawk and eagles make up approx 60.. and as I travel the whole country I like to see if I can’t capture them all,, have 346 on camera so far.. still got a long way to go…
Thanks for the numbers .. I was thinking more about the hawks and eagles … and wow … great diversity.
We have so many beautiful birds at the farm, Bulldog, but I can never seem to get them to stay still enough for me to get a shot (they won’t listen to reason!). You have so much talent – these pics are wonderful! 😀
Thank you Dianne… they don’t always co-operate with me as well… many a photo is merely an empty page with no bird… these are normally followed with the proverbial “where’d he goooo”
If I hear a hawk going ‘Om mani padme hum,’ I’ll know what it is, now!
Thanks Col..
I love his walk.. in his knickerbockers 🙂
thanks yes an odd pair of legs…
Love those last two photos of him struttin’ his stuff! 🙂
now this one has more attitude than any bird should have… makes me think of 007
You don’t often see goshawks on the ground. This one is different from ours in that way. And I agree with Suzanne – he seems to have “attitude” in his strut.
Oh he has attitude written all over him… thank you…
What a graceful creature ♥
thank you…
Ahh-h I do love these birds of prey!
so glad you do as there is more to come…
Seems so odd to see a bird like that strolling. If I had wings, I’d be using them just to show off!
I agree… but when on the ground he has attitude.. and don’t a lot of us do that as well… he’s been watching us…
While looking at the photos I was thinking the same thing about how he looked all bossy as he was walking. You really have some great looking birds. I might also maybe I need to get out there and watch. Thanks for sharing. ;O)
Maybe you do.. there is beauty in birds all around…
Love the hawk!
thanks..
Super photos of a magnificent bird!
Thank you so much…
I’ve never seen a hawk with this coloring..I like it:) I too love that last shot especially…it just kind of shows the hawk’s personality I guess…nice series, Captain Birdman!
Oh this bird is full of attitude… I had the honour of watching him stalk his prey that was in the fallen tree.. his stride and tenacity were so obviously there, his attitude told me so much about this bird, that after the capture I wanted to alight to shake his hand… a smallish hawk in stature but very big in attitude… love him… pity the photos of the capture were all just to dark not even a light adjustment could help them…
See, you like this bird because you have so much in common personality wise!
you might be right there…
The next to last shot is great but how does a bird chant?
I have wondered myself how this guy got his name as he is a fairly silent fellow..
Maybe he chants silently like some monks? 😉
A stunning, handsome bird. It stands with confidence , read to fly and conquer the sky.
thank you.. it is magnificent
Here again you’re close and personal with a stunning bird. Only thing I get close to is 2 male ducks *laughing. Hawks has always fascinated me … something so majestic about them. Doesn’t matter what size they are in. 65 cm that is a big bird. Great gallery again, Bob …
Thanks Viveka.. a wonderful, serious looking bird.. very centered on his hunt without a worry about me…
Absolutely gorgeous shots as usual bulldog. Thanks for sharing the beauty around you my friend. 🙂 *hugs*
Thanks Sonel.. this one was special…
It actually looks as though its is doing the catwalk on the last pic 🙂 Quite glam, I must say 🙂
Thank you.. an interesting sighting, close to the vehicle as well…
Love the photos, especially the last one. The stance is comical–showing off some leg.
Thank you.. it was an interesting watch to see him stalk his lizard lunch .. just a pity he had to do it in the shade and the photos are just too dark…
love the last shot – looks like a “lady” off to a business meeting in her striped pants and warm coat.
I sat and watched as he stalked a lizard that he finally captured, unfortunately the photos where just too dark of the capture, to post… but what a wonderful experience to watch his stalk and “Bossy” attitude as he went about his business of feeding himself… and this all under a dark thorny tree that had fallen over..