BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Accipiter atricapillus atricapillus
American Goshawk, atricapillus subspecies
| Scientific Name: | Accipiter atricapillus atricapillus (Wilson, 1812) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Accipiter gentilis atricapillus
|
||||||||||
| English Name: | American Goshawk, atricapillus subspecies | ||||||||||
| English Name Synonyms: |
Northern Goshawk, atricapillus subspecies
|
||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v13.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.1. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Subspecies | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Formerly (AOU 1983, 1998) included in Accipiter, but genetic data (Catanach et al. 2024) show that Accipiter sensu lato did not form a monophyletic group, and that the species now placed in Astur are not closely related to true Accipiter. Accipiter atricapillus was formerly (e.g., AOU 1957, 1983, 1998) considered conspecific with A. gentilis, but separated based on vocal and morphological differences (Sangster 2022) and polyphyly of mitochondrial DNA (Kunz et al. 2019) (AOS 2023). Treated as a separate species from A. gentilis prior to AOU (1957), as American Goshawk. | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-AGOS-AT | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5T5 (Sep 2023) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3S4 (Mar 2017) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Not at Risk (May 1995) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
|
Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
/ N / N / N na / N |
||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
|||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | |||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | |||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This subspecies occupies a majority of the species' range in North America, excluding sw Canada, sw USA and nw Mexico (Gill et al. 2023). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Ramsay, Leah | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 08, 2018 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
1998. Northern Goshawk. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 2pp. |
|||||||||||
Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC. |
|||||||||||
Cooper, J.M., and V. Stevens. 2000. A Review of the Ecology, Management, and Conservation of the Northern Goshawk in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. Bull. B-101. 30pp. |
|||||||||||
Demarchi, M.W. and M.D. Bently. 2005. Best Management Practices for Raptor Conservation during Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. of Environ., Victoria, B.C. MoE BMP Series. |
|||||||||||
Forest Practices Code. 1997. Northern Goshawk in Species and Plant Community Accounts for Identified Wildlife: Vol. 1. B.C. Minist. For. and B.C. Environ. 184pp. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Accipiter atricapillus atricapillus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Aug 16, 2026).