---
title: "Black Goshawk"
description: "Astur melanoleucus — Vogels. The black sparrowhawk (Astur melanoleucus), sometimes known as the black goshawk or great sparrowhawk, is a bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/black-goshawk
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Black Goshawk

> Astur melanoleucus — Vogels. The black sparrowhawk (Astur melanoleucus), sometimes known as the black goshawk or great sparrowhawk, is a bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae.

- Scientific name: *Astur melanoleucus*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `urban` (Steden en tuinen)
- iNaturalist observations: 1884
- iNaturalist taxon: [1578999](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1578999)

## Names

- en: Black Goshawk
- de: Mohrenhabicht
- es: Azor blanquinegro
- fr: Autour noir

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1453), KE (69), TZ (45), MW (25), UG (24), ZW (22), ET (16), CF (7), SZ (6), GH (5), RW (5), BJ (4)

## Summary

The black sparrowhawk (Astur melanoleucus), sometimes known as the black goshawk or great sparrowhawk, is a bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. It occurs mainly in forest and non-desert areas south of the Sahara, particularly where there are large trees suitable for nesting; favored habitat includes suburban and human-altered landscapes. It preys predominantly on birds of moderate size, such as pigeons and doves, in suburban areas.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_sparrowhawk

## Photo

![Black Goshawk](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-goshawk/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dave Brown · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49154218

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/black-goshawk?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).