lirralirra

It’s not every day I instantly know for certain that the bird I’m looking at is a female Brown Goshawk.

Anyone who has ever tried to identify between a Brown Goshawk and a Collared Sparrowhawk will understand the usual dilemma. On birding sites people often post an image and ask which of the two species it shows, and then the fun begins. There can be dozens of comments disagreeing with each other about the glare versus the stare, the length of the second toe (I kid you not), the skinniness of the legs, the size of the head, the sternness of the look, the heaviness of the brow ridge, the notch or lack of a notch in the tail (which can be contentious and spark more comments about worn feathers and moulting rectrices).

My brilliance in instantly identifying this bird has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Nalini who runs the Boobook Wildlife Shelter, which you may remember from the recent Tawny Frogmouth Babies post.

This magnificent goshawk was brought to the shelter when it was seriously underweight and with a large swelling on the side of its face. At first glance Nalini and the vet thought it was a tumour but further investigation showed that the bird was suffering from Trichomoniasis which is a parasitic disease caused by Trichomonas gallinae. The disease mainly affects pigeons but can be transmitted if a raptor eats an infected pigeon.

This lucky bird received the appropriate care and, after two weeks with Nalini, she was released earlier this week. She carefully surveyed her surroundings before flying to a nearby tree. It is always magical to release a bird and see them flying free.

Before I sign off did you notice the colours on the goshawk’s cere, bill, brow ridge and eye-ring? I was fascinated to see such exquisite blues and greens. On another level I was surprised to see the strange ‘node’ inside the goshawk’s nostril. I presumed it isn’t ‘a piece of its brain’ and asked my preparator friend (hi Fiona). She’s not entirely sure but mentioned tubercles and nasal conchae. She may think of something else when she’s not disturbed close to midnight with one of the world’s craziest questions.

Happy birding

Kim

~  Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra   

~ Facebook group  Ethical Bird Photography