The Moluccan goshawk or Halmaheran goshawk (''Tachyspiza henicogramma'') is a species of

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

in the family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects ...

. This species was formerly placed in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Accipiter ''Accipiter'' () is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Some species are called sparrowhawks, but there are many sparrowhawks in other genera such as '' Tachyspiza''. These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and ...

,''so a lot of the information online still has its previous name.

Taxonomy and Systematics

Taxonomy

The Moluccan Goshawk is part of the class ''

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

'', which contains all the world's birds from the

Ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

to the

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

. It is in the Order ''

Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; ) are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not falcons. For a long time, the majority view was to include them with the falcons in the Falc ...

'', the order includes most of the birds of prey like hawks, eagles,

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

, vultures, and

kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

, but not the falcons. It is in the family Accipitridae, one of the three families of this order. Its new scientific name is ''Tachyspiza henicogramma'', as it was previously named ''Accipiter Henicogrammus''.Rasmussen, P., Gill, F., & Donsker, D. (2024, August 17). ''Taxonomic updates''. IOC World Bird List. https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/taxonomy/

Related species

They are a

monotypic species In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

so there is only one population for this species and isn't divided into subspecies, this is most likely due to their limited range and genetic flow between each subpopulation.Clark, W. S., Kirwan, G. M., & Sharpe, C. J. (2020, March 4). ''Moluccan goshawk (accipiter henicogrammus), version 1.0''. Birds of the World. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/molgos1/cur/introduction Moluccan Goshawks are among 27 species of the genus ''

Tachyspiza ''Tachyspiza'' is a genus containing goshawks and sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae. The species were formerly placed in the genus ''Accipiter''. Taxonomy The genus ''Tachyspiza'' was introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob ...

.'' Related Goshawk species that live in the same area as''T. Hennicogramma'' is the

Variable goshawk The variable goshawk (''Tachyspiza hiogaster'') is a bird of prey native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It was recently elevated to species status, and was previously lumped together with the grey goshawk. This species wa ...

(''Tachyspiza hiogaster''). The Moluccan Goshawk was also once thought to be the same species as the

Brown Goshawk The brown goshawk (''Tachyspiza fasciata'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia and surrounding islands. This species was formerly placed in the genus ''Accipiter''. Taxonomy The brown goshawk was form ...

(''Tachyspiza fasciata''), and the

Grey Goshawk The grey goshawk (''Tachyspiza novaehollandiae'') is a strongly built, medium-sized bird of prey in the family ''Accipitridae'' that is found in eastern and northern Australia. The white polymorphism (biology), morph of this species is known as ...

(''Tachyspiza novaehollandiae''),''Genus Tachyspiza.'' iNaturalist. (N.d.). https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1577580-Tachyspiza but has since been given its own species state due to difference in plumage, structure, and difference in the range.

Naming history

The ''Tachyspiza'' genus has been Inactive for almost 200 years since its introduction by Kaup in 1844. In 2024,

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

and morphological testing by Catanach et al. (2024) on the ''Accipiter'' genus found that 27 of its species were different from the rest of the genus. This led to the reactivation of the ''Tachyspiza'' genus and renaming of the Moluccan Goshawk from ''Accipiter Henicogrammus'' to ''Tachyspiza Henicogramma'', along with the 26 other hawks who all have shorter toes and talons than Accipiter species. Historically the Moluccan Goshawk has been referred to as the Grey's Goshawk, and the Moluccan Barred Goshawk.Christie, D. A., & Ferguson-Lees, J. (2010). ''Raptors of the world''. Bloomsbury Publishing. The Moluccan Goshawk has also been called the Halmaheran Goshawk as it is endemic to Halmahera in the Moluccan Islands in Indonesia.

Description

Identification

They are a mid-sized raptors with short, rounded wingtips, relatively long tails, a heavy bill, and long legs but short and rather weak toes. Their short wings cover only the base of their long tail. Adults have yellow eyes, beak, and legs, while for juveniles it is paler, and greener/yellow. They have a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of about 1.7 times the total length. Males will have a wingspan of 21.7 to 23.2 cm and, a head-to-tail length of 19.2 to 21.9 cm, while females will be 2-20% larger with a wingspan of 23.7 to 26.0 cm and head-to-tail of 21.9 to 23.0 cm. Not much is known about their vocalization process, as the recordings of the bird that are known are unclear as to what the bird was doing at the time. The only known recording (context unknown, but perhaps territorial call) is of a rather sharp, insistent, rising series of whistles.

Plumage

Both sexes are very similar in color and only differ in size. All dark blue-slate on head and upperparts, but slightly paler cheeks, some white showing on the

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , ). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nuchal rigidity'' ...

, whitish or chestnut

mottling Mottle is a pattern of irregular marks, spots, streaks, blotches or patches of different shades or colours. It is commonly used to describe the surface of plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots on ...

on the throat, and many inconspicuous darker tail-bars; in contrast, breast and abdomen are all cinnamon-chestnut rather obscurely barred with white, with some variation. Females may be slightly browner in their upperbody than males. Juveniles have strongly patterned blackish brown above, with paler, white-streaked heads, black-spotted nape, and broad bars of light and dark on flight feathers and tail, as well as thin tips of rufous and bars of white on back and

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

; apart from white throat with few dark spots, all creamy below, boldly barred with blackish brown on breast and with rufous on abdomen and thighs. Not much is known about their

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

process, but it is believed that they moult directly into their adult plumage from their juvenile plumage.

Similar species

The Moluccan Goshawk is often confused with three other species located in the Moluccan area. Closest in size is the relatively longer-winged and shorter-tailed Grey Goshawk: adult have a paler grey on their head, back, and wing, with a reddish-brown collar around their neck; juveniles are rather like juvenile Moluccan Goshawk, but much less strongly patterned above and less barred on their underside, with streaked breast and contrasting reddish-brown barred flanks. Then the adult

Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk The rufous-necked sparrowhawk (''Tachyspiza erythrauchen'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtr ...

, altogether smaller and shorter-tailed, also has a clear reddish-brown collar, whiter throat, pinker breast and greyish belly; juvenile blackish above with reddish-brown edges, all boldly but relatively lightly streaked below, and in-flight body paler than underwings. Finally, there is the rather larger, much longer-winged and relatively short-tailed

Meyer's Goshawk Meyer's goshawk (''Astur meyerianus'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowl ...

is black and white (or all black) when adult, and more rufous below and streaked when juvenile.

Distribution and Habitat

Distribution

It is ''

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

'' to ''

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

.T. Henicogramma'' is found on the islands of

North Maluku North Maluku (; ) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. It shares marit ...

, Halmahera, and

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

, Indonesia. It was believed that the species was also present on other islands like the islands of Morotai and

Bacan The Bacan Islands (; ), formerly also known as the Bachans, Bachians, and Batchians, are a group of islands in the Moluccas in Indonesia. They are mountainous and forested, lying south of Ternate and southwest of Halmahera. The islands are adm ...

, but due to decline, it is believed to be extinct from these islands. 2 to 100 subpopulations are estimated to be spread out amongst these 3 areas of Indonesia.BirdLife International. 2020. ''Accipiter henicogrammus''. ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2020: e.T22695544A176242444. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22695544A176242444.en.

Habitat

The preferred habitat of the Moluccan Goshawk will be in forested areas on these islands. Their preferred forest type will be in hills and mountains, as well as being occasionally seen in forest edges located from 200 m to a maximum of 1300 m in elevation It was reported that they could be found in

secondary forests A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...

but during a survey of Aketajawe Lolobata National Park, all sightings were from

primary forests An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

Behaviour and Ecology

Breeding

Little is known of their breeding techniques. The bird is usually solitary but has been seen in pairs at moments.

Food and feedings

The Moluccan Goshawk diet consists mainly of

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

(

lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

), small birds and

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

, and insects (such as

grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

). This goshawk has relatively weak feet and a small degree of reversed size dimorphism (RSD), indicating that they are not primarily bird-eaters. They hunt by laying very still on an inconspicuous perch, making a quick dash to surprise prey.

Threats

The Moluccan Goshawk has a shorter range and smaller land space for habitat inside its current range compared to other Goshawks, this led to many threats to its species which has led to the decline of the species in the past decade. These threats lead to ecosystem conversion and degradation. The primary threats to the species are related to habitat loss through commercial logging for timber, and clearance for shifting agriculture, mining, settlements and plantations of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

and timber species. Further habitat loss is due to the urbanization of North Maluku province which is undergoing rapid development which leads to a higher rate of forest conversion to agricultural fields, luckily it was found that forest loss today is viewed as negligible.Vizzuality. (n.d.). ''Forest Monitoring, land use & deforestation trends: Global Forest Watch''. Forest Monitoring, Land Use & Deforestation Trends , Global Forest Watch. https://www.globalforestwatch.org/ The conversion of agricultural land from forest, opening forest for roads, and more

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

has unfortunately led to an increase in the frequency of

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

, which devastates the natural habitat of the Goshawk at unprecedented rates These threats have led to the decline of the Moluccan Goshawk population and today there are only about 1500-7000 adult individuals left, with 2 to 100 subpopulations. This number is based on the IUCN's 2020 assessment, so this number could be lower today.

Relationship with humans

The Moluccan Goshawk is still being used as a pet and for horticulture locally and nationally in its habitat, but it is illegal for other countries than Molucca to harbour the Goshawk.

Status

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN) has declared the Moluccan Goshawk as a

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

since 2014. Its first Red List assessment by the IUCN came in 2004 and was declared as

Least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

. The assessments of the species in 2008, 2009, and 2012 also concluded the species to be of the least concern status. Then since 2014 (2014, 2016, and 2020), it has been listed as Near threatened. This status is based on its small and restricted population undergoing a suspected decline over a three-generation period (one generation is around 5.1 years).

Conservation effort

Conservation efforts towards the Moluccan Goshawk are very limited at the moment. These efforts include in-place land/water protection conservation sites across the entire range of the Goshawk population and international management and trade control of the species. Further actions to protect the species include proposed surveys to monitor the population trend. This includes tracking the rate of habitat loss through regular studies of satellite images and increasing the area of suitable habitat with protected status.

External link

# Bird song: ''Canto''. xeno. (n.d.). https://xeno-canto.org/species/Accipiter-henicogrammus

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113980 Moluccan goshawk Birds of Halmahera Birds of prey of Asia Moluccan goshawk Moluccan goshawk Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic birds of Indonesia