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Accipiter trivirgatus (Temminck, 1824)
| Family Name: | Accipitridae |
| Taxonomic Group: | Vertebrates (Bird) |
| Common Name: | Crested Goshawk |
Name
Description
| Description | This is the only accipiter with crest. Crest is usually visible only when perched. In flight, underwings whitish broadly banded with black. Undertail white, with four black bands. Upperparts dark brown, throat white with distinct mesial stripe. Breast white streaked broadly with rufous brown. Belly white barred rufous-brown. No eyebrow. Males have dark grey sides of head and blackish crown and crest. Females have brownish head. |
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Ecology, Habitat & Location
| Ecological Notes | A species hunting mostly for small mammals, birds and reptiles in the canopy and interior of forest and plantations. Exclusively solitary except during the breeding season. Nesting recorded twice at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. A few pairs are also known from Pulau Ubin where they occur in plantations and secondary forest. A third population occurs in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve but its status and numbers are unknown. An obscure raptor of which little is known. |
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| Habitats | Forest |
| Distribution | Rather scattered but resident birds have been found in the Botanic Gardens, Pulau Ubin and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This species occurs in southern China, India and Southeast Asia. |
| Nature Reserves | Bukit Timah Nature Reserve |
| Nature Areas | Pulau Ubin |
Conservation
| Trends & Threats | Its current low wild population may not be viable in the long term. |
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| Scientific Interest & Potential Value | The only resident forest raptor taking small birds, as part of the forest food chain. |
| Conservation Notes | Estimated at between 5-10 birds. All key sites are protected as nature reserves or nature areas in the Singapore Green Plan 2012. Additional field surveys are proposed to find if other sites with suitable habitat hold this species, as well as known sites holding this species to investigate their ecological requirements. |
Status
| Species Status | Resident |
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| Conservation Status | Rare |
| Singapore Red Data Book Status | Critically Endangered (CR) [2008] |
Photos
References
| References | Davison, G.W.H., Ng, P.K.L. & Ho, H.C (Eds.). 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book (2nd Edition). Singapore: Nature Society (Singapore). 285pp Lim, K.S. & Gardner, D. 1997. Birds: An illustrated field guide to the birds of Singapore. Singapore: Sun Tree Publishing Limited. 226pp Wang, L.K. & Hails, C.J. 2007. An annotated checklist of the birds of Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement no. 15. 179pp |
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