New Britain Goshawk Accipiter princeps Scientific name definitions

38–45 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), female larger than male; wingspan 75–86 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Medium-sized to large Accipiter with slate-grey upperparts (darkest on crown, wings and tail), white underparts lightly washed or vermiculated grey, short rounded wings, short tail, heavy bill, and stout legs with short toes (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Adult unmistakable within distribution; darker on head than allopatric A. poliocephalus, with underwing unbarred. Larger than both A. luteoschistaceus and A. brachyurus, which share same island; former even darker-headed, has less stout and redder legs and is more creamy buff below, while latter has more pointed wings, shorter tail, rufous collar and greyer underparts (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Also sympatric (but perhaps usually at lower elevations (2 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ) ), A. novaehollandiae dampieri is pale grey above and pink below, and A. meyerianus is usually much larger and longer-winged than present species, black above and white below, with some streaking or barring on underparts, or is all black (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Bare parts: irides bright orange to pinkish-orange, cere reddish-orange, bill base and facial skin orange, and legs yellow-orange (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile is not satisfactorily described; possibly similar to juvenile of sympatric A. luteoschistaceus (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

New Britain.

Hill and montane primary rainforest, at 760–1425 m, but recorded to 1600 m, with a single record at 200 m (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); occasional records from lowland forest, including unconfirmed records down to sea-level (3 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). An unconfirmed report at just 50 m, in roadside scrub at interface of secondary forest and cattle pasture (2 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ).

Unknown; no records outside normal range. Suspected to be fairly sedentary (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Stomach of one specimen contained insects; another killed and ate a Melanesian Ground-thrush (Zoothera talasea) caught in a mist-net, but not suspected to be very dependent on birds for food (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Usually single individuals observed, either perched in subcanopy or flying rather slowly but strongly through forest. No further information.

Apparently undescribed (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

No information available.

VULNERABLE. CITES II. Very poorly known; rare to scarce. Small population likely in decline owing to deforestation. Confined to New Britain, where known from four specimens and a very few recent records. Type series of three specimens from between 750 m and 1100 m above Wide Bay (E New Britain), and single male from 1150 m on Mt Talawe (W New Britain); probable sighting in Dec 1979 in Nakanai Mts, in W New Britain, and one seen eating a Melanesian Ground-thrush (Zoothera talasea) trapped in mist-net at 1425 m. Although it appears to be rare and confined to mountains, an adult was reportedly observed in Sept 1996 c. 50 m above sea-level just S of Walindi, c. 1 km inland from N coast of W New Britain (2 Bishop, K. D., and D. N. Jones (2001). The montane avifauna of west New Britain, with special reference to the Nakanai Mountains. Emu 101(3):205–220. Close ). BirdLife puts number of mature individuals in band 2500–9999, equating to global population of 3750–14,999 (rounded to 3500–15,000) individuals. Main threat throughout range is habitat loss and degradation; although lowland forests on New Britain extensively logged and cleared for planting of oil palms (Elaeis guineensis), little logging currently occurs in mountains, and rate of forest loss within species' range calculated as 9·5% over three generations (4 Buchanan, G.M., Butchart, S.H.M., Dutson, G.C.L., Pilgrim, J.D., Steininger, M.K., Bishop, K.D. and Mayaux, P. (2008). Using remote sensing to inform conservation status assessment: estimates of recent deforestation rates on New Britain and the impacts upon endemic birds. Biological Conservation. 141(1): 56–66. Close ); population may be small, but likely to be declining only slowly. Mining could soon become a threat, as two exploration licences (covering 1696 km²) were granted in C & E New Britain in 2012, and all forests in Bismarck Archipelago jeopardized by mining interests; unlike logging and the planting of oil palms, which generally restricted to lowland areas, mining operations, though unlikely to affect large areas of forest in short term, can have adverse impact in montane areas and could threaten important upland forest refugia in the future. Proposed conservation measures for this species include, among others, surveys to investigate its status in logged forest, its altitudinal range, and its abundance at different elevations; employing of local hunters to find nests, and intensive observation of these; mapping of remaining forest, logging concessions, oil palm plantations and areas of proposed expansion; and charting of existing and proposed mining operations. The monitoring of trends in forest loss should continue. Most importantly, there is an urgent need for generating a viable and effective conservation programme within the region.