The Diet of the Brown Goshawk, Accipiter-Fasciatus, in Southeastern Australia

Abstract

The diet of the brown goshawk, Accipiter fasciatus, was studied during 1980-83 near Macclesfield, VIc. Birds made up 63% and mammals 26% of 1769 prey items. Rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, accounted for 95% of mammalian items. Mammals were estimated to contribute more to dietary biomass than birds (54 v. 46%). Other animals recorded in the diet were reptiles (Elapidae and Scincidae), insects (mostly Coleoptera and Orthoptera) and crustaceans (Engaeus spp.).Diet composition varied significantly from year to year, from season to season and, during breeding, between territories in close proximity to one another. There were significant differences in the diets of males and females. Males took relatively more birds (52 v. 24%), more insects (41 v. 21%) and fewer mammals (2 v. 48%). Differences in food between age classes were also significant. Compared to second-year and older birds, first-year birds took relatively fewer mammals (28 v. 43%), fewer birds (23 v. 49%) and more insects (43 v. 0%).

An intraspecific and interspecific comparison of raptor diets in the south-west of the Northern Territory, Australia

“…The dependence of the brown goshawk on reptiles in central Australia (35% of prey items; 79% of dietary biomass) contrasts strongly with findings for populations studied in eastern and south-eastern Australia, which rely largely on mammals and birds (Baker-Gabb 1984a, 1984bCzechura et al 1987;Aumann 1988Aumann , 1989Olsen et al 1990;Olsen 1997a, 1997b). In the six eastern and south-eastern studies summarised in Marchant and Higgins (1993), mammals such as rabbits and rats, and birds such as parrots, pigeons and passerines accounted for 72-92% of items (n = 2227).…”

“…In the six eastern and south-eastern studies summarised in Marchant and Higgins (1993), mammals such as rabbits and rats, and birds such as parrots, pigeons and passerines accounted for 72-92% of items (n = 2227). Collectively, these prey groups accounted for more than 99% of the dietary biomass in each of the three largest of these studies (Baker-Gabb 1984a, 1984bAumann 1988) and for 93% of the biomass of Olsen's (1997a, 1997b) north Queensland population. Reptiles were not recorded in these studies except in Burton and Olsen's (9 of 363 items), although they were significant in singleyear/single-nest studies in the Kimberley, Western Australia (Aumann and Baker-Gabb 1991), near Darwin, Northern Territory (Aumann 1990) and the You Yangs, Victoria (Aumann 1989).…”

A high prevalence of beak and feather disease virus in non-psittacine Australian birds

“…Brown goshawks construct stick nests high in mature Eucalyptus trees [34]. Birds made up 63 % of the prey items of the brown goshawk in a study in Victoria, with mammals, reptiles, insects and crustaceans composing the remainder of their diet [35]. It is possible that these birds of prey acquired BFDV either in a nesting hollow previously occupied by psittacine birds, or by ingestion of a BFDV-infected psittacine bird.…”

Patterns of ecological segregation among forest and woodland birds in south-eastern Australia

“…Foraging behaviour was identified as fundamental for just one pair: Grey Goshawks Accipiter novaehollandiae make more use of the "watch and pounce" hunting technique than do Brown Goshawks A. fasciatus (Olsen et al 1990;Marchant & Higgins 1993). The two species also show substantial differences in diet, prey size and foraging habitat (Baker-Gabb 1984;Czechura 1985;Aumann 1988;Marchant & Higgins 1993) but the overlap in diet has been assessed as 50% (Olsen et al 1990) and the differences may be driven by the difference in foraging behaviour.…”