Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk
Melierax
poliopterus
World: East Africa, from southern central Ethiopia eastwards through Somalia and then south through eastern Uganda, Kenya to central Tanzania
Kenya: Common in open bush and wooded areas across most of the country although less common in the west where it is mostly replaced by the Dark Chanting Goshawk
This is a very distinctive bird which is difficult to confuse with anything other than the less common Dark Chanting Goshawk. The ranges of the 2 species may overlap in the west of Kenya but the 2 can be distinguished by cere colour, which is yellow in the Pale and pinkish-red in the Dark Chanting Goshawk and the under tail coverts (white in the Pale Chanting and barred in the Dark Chanting).
The Pale Chanting Goshawk is a large, upright-perching
hawk which, even as a juvenile (pictured right), is easily recognisable from
its long bare legs and tarsi and distinctive barring. Its habit of perching
on open branches also makes it relatively easy to spot. In the adult birds (pictured
left) males and females are similarly coloured and marked but females tend to
be larger