Doria's Goshawk Megatriorchis doriae Scientific name definitions

51–69 cm; female larger (perhaps by 12–19% in size and much more in mass) (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) than male; female 1000 g; wingspan 88–106 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Large slender hawk with heavy bill, small head, slight crest, rounded wings and long rounded or wedge-tipped tail (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Distinctively barred and streaked on back, upperwings and tail; underparts pale with sparse brown streaking. Has powerful legs and long-toed (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) feet like Accipiter, but shorter wings. Juvenile is slightly paler and more rufous, lacks black mask; may have pale head. Bare parts: irides dark golden-brown (browner in juvenile?), cere greenish to slate-blue (greener in juvenile?), legs greyish-yellow (duller in juvenile?) (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

New Guinea lowlands; recorded also in W Papuan Is (Batanta I).

Lowland and hill rainforest, monsoon forest and mangroves; seen also at interface between disturbed forest and secondary scrub. Generally keeps below forest canopy and does not soar (2 Pratt, T. K., and B. M. Beehler (2015) Birds of New Guinea. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ). From sea-level to 1650 m, but mainly below 1100 m (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Unknown, but presumably sedentary, as inferred from short wings and infrequent, slow flight; no records outside normal range (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Little known. Birds, including Lesser Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor); also seen repeatedly snatching small (invertebrate?) prey from outer foliage. Spends much time inside forest canopy, where perches for long periods; waits in ambush at sites attractive to prey, e.g. flowering trees, or bird-of-paradise leks. Occasionally flies by forest edge or low over canopy.

Frequently utters a drawn-out hissing whistle, both when perched and in flight, including when being mobbed by other birds (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Very little known. Builds bulky stick nest in crown of tree (2 Pratt, T. K., and B. M. Beehler (2015) Birds of New Guinea. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ); eggs, incubation period and nestling period unknown (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 2 Pratt, T. K., and B. M. Beehler (2015) Birds of New Guinea. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Scarce, and seldom encountered by ornithologists; biology largely unknown. As stated by BirdLife, this raptor is rarely recorded, partly because of its unobtrusive habits, e.g. only one record in seven years of observation at Tabubil (C New Guinea). Between 1979 and 1993, during five ornithological surveys of varying duration conducted in Lakekamu Basin (SE New Guinea), it was not seen at all, although perhaps overlooked, and in another survey had been seen at only one site in Brown R region (3 Beehler, B. M., J. B. Sengo, C. Filardi, and K. Merg (1995). Documenting the lowland rainforest avifauna in Papua New Guinea - effects of patchy distributions, survey effort and methodology. Emu 95(3):149–161. Close ). No information on population; despite apparent sparse distribution, its total range is huge, covering perhaps in excess of 400,000 km², and numbers should be in the thousands (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Habitat destruction presumably the main threat to this species. Its general tolerance of logging is poorly known, but it has been observed repeatedly in logged forest near Port Moresby. Surveys are required in order to estimate this raptor's population size and determine its tolerance of logged forest. Important areas of lowland forest should be set aside and protected.