Brown goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) is found in Australia, Christmas Island, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. In Australia this species breeds locally along the northern coast with the race didimus and locally along the southern coast with the race fasciatus. This is also found in the Sundas and Moluccas.

This goshawk has brown upper wings and a brownish grey head A small orange collar is sometimes visible in the male. The 15 to 18 inch male and 18 to 22 inch female both have an orange breast marked with white lines. When flying the underside shows orange marked with white on the belly and wings. The wing feathers shows white lines with brown. The wing tips are darker. The young and first year are similar to the adults but marked with brown instead of orange.

Howard and Moore in 2003 listed about 12 different subspecies. The nominate form is found in Australia and islands to the south east of the Solomon Islands.

The subspecies didimus is found in northern Australia. The subspecies vigilax is found in New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Clements in 2007 listed 11 subspecies.
His nominate subspecies is found on Australia, Tasmania, and east into the adjacent Solomon Islands.
The subspecies natalis is found on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
The subspecies tjendanae is found on Sumba in the Lesser Sundas.
The subspecies wallacii is found on Lombok and other islands in the Lesser Sundas.
The subspecies stresemanni is found on a collection of islands including Kalao, Bonerate, and Madu.
The subspecies hellmayri is found in the Lesser Sundas on Timor, Alor, and Roti, etc.)
The subspecies savu is found on Sawu in the Lesser Sundas.
The subspecies polycryptus is found in eastern New Guinea.
The subspecies dodwit is found in southern New Guinea.
The subspecies didimus is found on Buru and into northern Australia.
The subspecies vigilax is found in New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands and Vanuatu.

True hawk genus (Accipiter) is a large world wide genus of about 50 or more species comprising birds with short broad soaring wings and a long tail. The females are larger than the males. These birds primarily feed on other small birds.

The hawks are the best known of the birds of prey. We have placed the Accipiter genus with its 40 some species of hunting hawks here.

Hawks and Eagles (Family Accipitridae) are a group of 205 species found in most areas of the world. Actually, the common terms of eagle, hawk, kite, buzzard, and vulture are rather loosely used, and consequently, are not much help in understanding this family. Here, this family has been separated into seven groups: typical hawks, Old World vultures, eagles and related hawks, fish eagles, kites, harriers and marsh hawks, and a misc. group. A more precise division might be:
Aegypinae - Old World Vultures -
Elaninae - White Tailed Kites - 7 species
Perninae - Swallowtailed and Hook Billed Kites
Milvinae - True kites -
Accipitrinae - Hunting hawks - 40 species
Buteoninae - Large hawks and eagles - 90 species
Circinae - Harriers and marsh hawks - 17 species
Circaetinae - Serpent eagles

There is no universal agreement on the division of this group, and some authors lump them altogether. We hope our arbitrary separation helps in the study of this group.

Birds of Prey (Order Falconiformes) group contains the eagles, hawks, falcons, Old World vultures, and related birds. The majority of the species in this group feed on small animals, fish, and other birds. A few species eat dead animals. Most of them are excellent fliers and have very strong legs and claws for grasping their prey. There are about 239 species in the hawk and eagle group and about 61 species in the falcon group. When you include the unique osprey and the unique secretary bird, you total about 302 species more or less depending upon a few controversial subspecies.

(The 7 species of New World vultures have recently been placed near the pelicans and storks and were not counted in our 302 number. However, for historical reasons we have left those vultures below here, as our purpose is defining species, and helping users navigate the large number of species.)

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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