Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk

Afrikaans name: Bleeksingvalk

Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk

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Melierax canorus

The Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk is found over most of South Africa excluding the eastern region and the extreme south-west.

It is quite common in the western half of South Africa. It prefers drier areas with some trees and open areas that provide ideal hunting grounds.

The 'Chanting' part of their common name comes from the musical call of the male during the breeding season.

They feed on smaller mammals up to the size of a rabbit and will take most birds. Insects, lizards, frogs and baby tortoises are also on its menu.

Male Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks are fiercely territorial and will defend their territories against intrusion by other males. Some males, however, recruit another male as an assistant who helps with activities related to breeding and may even, on rare occasions, mate with the female.

The nest is built by the pair, perhaps with an assistant male, in a suitable tree or structure such as a pylon. Either one or two eggs are laid and are attended to by both parents. Youngsters stay in the parents territories for approximately a year.

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References and further reading

A Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: O.P.M. Prozesky - Year Published: 1983 - Page: 79

A First Guide to South African Birds - 6th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Year Published: 1959 - Page: 134

A First Guide to South African Birds - 7th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Year Published: 1975 - Page: 134

African Birds of Prey - Author: Leslie Brown - Year Published: 1970 - Page: 88

An Introduction to the Birds of Prey of South Africa - Author: D.V. Prout-Jones - Year Published: 1974 - Page: 62

An Introduction to the Birds of Prey of South Africa - Author: D.V. Prout-Jones - Year Published: 1974 - Page: 116

Birds of Prey of Southern Africa - Author: Peter Steyn - Year Published: 1985 - Page: 183

Birds of the South Western Cape - Author: Joy Frandsen - Year Published: - Page: 60

Birds of the Transvaal - Author: Tarboton, Kemp and Kemp - Year Published: 1987 - Page: 58

Collins Illustrated Checklist - Birds of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: Ber van Perlo - Year Published: 1999 - Page: 13

Eagles, Hawks & Falcons of the World - Author: Leslie Brown and Dean Amadon - Year Published: 1989 - Page: 410

Everyone's Guide to South African Birds - Author: John Sinclair and John Mendelsohn - Year Published: 1987 - Page: 103

Ian Sinclair's Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair - Year Published: 1988 - Page: 84

Know your Birds of Prey - Author: - Year Published: - Page: 30

Newman's Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Year Published: 1984 - Page: 178

Newman's Birds of Southern Africa - 7th Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Year Published: 2000 - Page: 178

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Dr. Austin Roberts - Year Published: 1949 - Page: 65

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 3rd Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Year Published: 1975 - Page: 109

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 4th Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Year Published: 1981 - Page: 117

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 5th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Year Published: 1985 - Page: 146

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 6th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Year Published: 1993 - Page: 142

Sasol Birds of Prey of Africa and its Islands - Author: Alan and Meg Kemp - Year Published: 1998 - Page: 150

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Year Published: 1993 - Page: 108

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 4th Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Year Published: 2011 - Page: 116

Southern African Bird Names Explained - Author: Charles Clinning - Year Published: 1989 - Page: 85

The Birds of South Africa - Author: Hazel Stokes - Year Published: 1979 - Page: 11

The Status & Conservation of Birds of Prey in the Transvaal - Author: W. Tarboton and D. Allan - Year Published: 1984 - Page: 85

Wildlife of Southern Africa - Author: Martin Withers and David Hosking - Year Published: 2011 - Page: 56

List of South African Birds