Northern Goshawk Pictures
Accipiter gentilis

We hope you enjoy these Northern Goshawk pictures that we have taken while researching goshawks and raptor migration. Please note the Terms of Use.

Click on thumbnails for larger photos.

This photo is an adult female, that is at least two years old (After Second Year - ASY). The picture shows the typical eye color of an adult Northern Goshawk and the prominent superorbital ridge that protects the eyes as they crash through the vegetation attempting to capture prey.

This photo is an adult male. This bird has a darker eye than the female above. The male has a smaller head and beak than the female above. Note the distinct white superciliaries against the dark head (a key identification mark). Adults have bluish-gray backs and upper wing coverts, grayish breast and belly and white under tail coverts.

This photo shows the juvenile plumage of the Northern Goshawk. The back and upper wing coverts are mottled brown. The tail has alternate light and dark bands. The belly and breast are heavily streaked. The eyes of immature goshawks are yellow.

This picture is an adult goshawk that is just over one year old (photo taken in Oct.) Notice that some of the feathers in the middle of the left wing are darker than others. These darker feathers have been replaced (molted) and are new, while the older, faded brown juvenile feathers that have not yet been replaced. Since there are both juvenile and adult feathers on this bird, we know that it was hatched during the Spring of the previous year. We would age it as Second Year (SY).

This is a closer look at the tail of the bird above. Tail feathers are called rectrices. Notice the old, faded brown juvenile feathers that have not yet been replaced. Raptors in general have 12 tail feathers.