Melierax canorus
The Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus) is a striking medium-sized raptor endemic to Southern Africa, renowned for its distinctive calls and graceful presence in arid landscapes. Adults display an elegant pale grey plumage across the head, back, and upper chest, contrasting sharply with a pure white rump and finely barred black-and-white belly and undertail coverts. A key field mark is its vibrant red cere and legs, which become even more intense during the breeding season, coupled with ...
Found in arid and semi-arid savanna, open woodland, karoo, and scrubland, often at the edges of deserts. It prefers areas with scattered trees or bushes for perching and nesting, typically found at low to mid-elevations.
Primarily carnivorous, feeding on small mammals (rodents, shrews), birds (larks, weavers), reptiles (lizards, snakes), and large insects (grasshoppers, beetles). It employs a diverse range of hunting methods, including walking, running, and swooping from perches.
This diurnal raptor is often seen perched prominently on trees, bushes, or utility poles, surveying its territory, but is equally adept at hunting from the ground. Its foraging strategies are remarkably diverse, including swooping from a perch, aerial surveys, and its characteristic habit of walk...
The Pale Chanting Goshawk is resident throughout a significant portion of Southern Africa. Its primary breeding and year-round range extends across Namibia, Botswana, and a large part of South Africa, particularly in the Karoo, Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces. It also occu...
Least Concern
- The 'chanting' in its name refers to its remarkable, fluting, repetitive calls that can be heard for considerable distances across its arid habitat. - It is one of the few raptors that frequently hunts on foot, walking and running through the savanna to catch prey. - Its bright red cere and leg...