Crested Goshawk

Powerfully built hawk of forests, especially hilly woods. Namesake crest is usually held low and not very visible. Adult has a gray head, brown wings, whitish underparts with thick orange-brown stripes in belly and streaks in breast, and white throat with black borders. Juvenile similar but with brown head, sparingly marked underparts, and very short crest. Appears stockier and relatively shorter-tailed in flight than other accipiters. Flying adults may also show a fluffy white clump of feathers on both sides of the tail.

In Sri Lanka, the Crested Goshawk primarily inhabits dense, lowland forests, particularly along riverbanks and within the canopy of thick wooded areas, often found in places like the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, where it can be observed hunting birds and small mammals within the dense foliage.

In Sri Lanka, the Crested Goshawk primarily feeds on a diet consisting of small birds, rodents like rats, lizards, and occasionally small mammals like squirrels, relying on its stealthy hunting style to ambush prey from a concealed perch within the forest canopy.