A successful long-distance aerial pursuit of an Australian Raven Corvus coronoides by a Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus

Abstract

The Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus has a variable diet comprising mainly avian prey and mammals, and most observations suggest that it employs a range of ambush tactics but rarely uses long-distance aerial pursuits. Here I document a rare instance of a successful long-distance aerial pursuit of an Australian Raven Corvus coronoides by a Brown Goshawk, on 29 March 2015, on Broughton Island, New South Wales. After multiple unsuccessful aerial attacks, the Goshawk eventually succeeded. Although corvids are abundant and widespread throughout Australia and are within the preferred avian prey size range, they are rarely observed in the Goshawk’s diet. Two ecological factors probably contributed to this observation: (1) there is little woodland here and thus little concealment for ambush tactics and (2) prey availability on Broughton Island and the surrounding islands has been altered by programs to eradicate pest mammals, thereby limiting the prey available to this species in this area.