Description: The New Britain Goshawk is considered one of the rarest birds in Papua New Guinea and is only found on the island of New Britain. IUCN status is Vulnerable. It has only previously been photographed once in 1969 and recently by Tom Vierus in March 2024. Rare Bird new britain goshawk photographed for first time. (2924, September 16). https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/first-ever-photograph-of-rare-bird-species-new-britain-goshawk
Identification: The female is larger than males. It is a medium-sized to large hawk with slate-gray crown, wings and tail. The underparts are white to light grey. Legs are yellow-orange, bill base and facial skin is orange. Prefers subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (5) (6)
Domain: Eukarya. Includes organisms with complex, membrane-bound cells (10)
Kingdom: Animalia. All Animals who are multicellular, eukaryotic, consume other organisms for food, lack cell walls, are capable of movement, and reproduce sexually. (2)
Phylum: Chordata. Animals with a notochord (a cartilaginous rod-like structure developed in early embryonic stages as a rudimentary backbone). Humans also belong to this Phylum. (7) (10)
Class: Aves. Includes birds, as their bodies are covered with feathers, have beaks without teeth, forelimbs are wings, lay hard-shelled eggs. They are warm-blooded, have a high metabolic rate, four-chambered heart, lightweight skeleton. (3)
Order: Accipitriformes. Hawks and relatives that are active during the day, are of medium to large size, have sharp-hooked beaks, strong legs and feet, broad and powerful wings, have a carnivorous diet, excellent eyesight, females significantly larger than the males. They also live long, have a slow maturation rate, and a low number of annual offspring. (2)
Suborder: Generally omitted in bird classifications
Superfamily: Accipitroidea. Hawks from a wide range of environments, size, physical form, and hunting strategy. They build large nests in high or inaccessible places and are top predators. (8)
Family: Accipitradae. This includes kites, hawks, and eagles. These birds share features like strong talons, hooked beaks, and keen vision. (1)
Subfamily: Accipitrinae These birds are primarily woodland birds with short, broad, rounded wings and long tails. They typically hunt by sudden dashes and rely on high visual acuity. They prey mostly on small birds. They display a flight style of bursts of flapping followed by short glides. (4)
Genus: Tachyspiza. (Formerly Accipiter which was polyphyletic-included species that did not share a single common ancestor within the group) Reclassification of this bird was based on DNA sequences, vocalizations, and anatomical distinction analysis. They specialize in hunting not only small birds, but also insects and reptiles. They do not soar and live in a much narrower ecological niche. The name Tachyspiza comes from the greek word Takhus-fast and spizias-hawk. (9)
Species: princeps (Tachyspiza princeps). Endemic to New Britain.
References
1. Accipitridae: Facts, Distribution & Population. BioDB. (n.d.). https://biodb.com/taxa/accipitridae/
2.Animalia kingdom | definition, characteristics & examples – lesson | study.com. (n.d.-a). https://study.com/learn/lesson/animalia-kingdom-examples-characteristics-facts.html
3. Birds (class aves). iNaturalist. (n.d.-a). https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3-Aves
4. Daniels, R. (Dick). (2023, June 8). 124 types of hawks. Avibirds.com. https://avibirds.com/types-of-hawks/
5. Database, C. to A. (n.d.). New Britain goshawk. Animal Database. https://animals.fandom.com/wiki/New_Britain_Goshawk
6. Debus, S., Kirwan, G. M., & Christie, D. (2024, October 22). New Britain goshawk (tachyspiza princeps), version 1.1. Birds of the World. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/nebgos1/cur/introduction
7. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Notochord definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notochord
8.Order accipitriformes: Diurnal birds of prey identification: Bioexplorer. Bio Explorer. (2025, January 25). https://www.bioexplorer.net/order-accipitriformes/
9. Paleotropical and Australasian accipiters (genus tachyspiza). iNaturalist. (n.d.-b). https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1577580-Tachyspiza
10. Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, October 7). New Britain goshawk. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Britain_goshawk