Micronisus gabar
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The gabar goshawk (Micronisus gabar) is a small species of African and Arabian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. The gabar goshawk is polymorphic and occurs in two distinct forms which fluctuate in relative abundance across the geographic range of the species. The more frequent, paler form has mostly grey upperparts with a conspicuous, white rump and white and grey barring on the chest, thighs and underwings, and a dark grey, barred tail. In contrast, the less frequent form, which accounts on average for approximately 25 percent of the overall population, is almost completely black. In both forms of adult the eyes are dark, and the legs are long and the cere is red. The cere and the legs are yellow in immatures and the plumage is generally browner, with the pale birds having untidier barring on the chest than the adult. The females are significantly larger than the males, the male's weigh 90 – 173g and the females 167 – 240g. The body length is 28–36 cm and the wingspan 63 cm.
The gabar goshawk is found in sub-Saharan Africa, extending to Arabian Peninsula. These subspecies are currently recognised: M. g. aequatorius: highlands... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gabar Goshawk sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 213th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gabar Goshawk in Johannesburg on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gabar Goshawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate Gabar Goshawk sightings, Johannesburg ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Maiduguri (Nigeria, about 60%), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 30%) and N'Djamena (Chad, about 20%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Gabar Goshawk that you can see in Johannesburg (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Black-winged Kite (about 10%) and Verreaux's Eagle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gabar Goshawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
