Melierax is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Established by George Robert Gray in 1840, it contains the following species:

Genus Melierax – G.R. Gray, 1840 – three species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Dark chanting goshawkMelierax metabates Heuglin, 1861 Five subspecies M. m. metabates: Senegal and the Gambia east to Ethiopia, south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Tanzania.M. m. neumanni: Mali east to northern Sudan.M. m. theresae: south west Morocco.M. m. ignoscens: South western Arabia, i.e. south western Saudi Arabia and western Yemen.M. m. mechowi: south eastern Gabon to Angola, south Tanzania south to northern Namibia and north eastern South Africa.sub-Saharan Africa, but avoids the rainforest of the Congo basin and the far southSize: 45cm Habitat: savannah, open woodland Diet: birds, small mammals, reptilesLC
Pale chanting goshawkMelierax canorus (Thunberg, 1799) Two subspecies M. c. argentior - Clancey, 1960M. c. canorus - (Thunberg, 1799)South AfricaSize: 55cm Habitat: desert Diet: small mammals and reptilesLC
Eastern chanting goshawkMelierax poliopterus Cabanis, 1868East AfricaSize: 49 to 55cm Habitat: semi-desert, grassland Diet: lizards, smaller birds, insectsLC

The name Melierax is a combination of the Greek words melos, meaning "song" and hierax, meaning "hawk".

External links

Data related to Melierax at Wikispecies