What to Know About the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda?

The African Harrier-Hawk in Uganda is one of the birds of Uganda seen during Uganda birding safaris. It is a bird of prey. It is about 60–66 cm in length, Wingspan: 160 cm; Weight: 635-950 g and is related to the harriers. It breeds in Murchison falls national park-Uganda.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Look Like?

Gymnogene is a medium sized raptor. Upperparts, head and breast are pale grey. Belly is finely barred with black and white.

It has broad pale grey wings, with edge fringed with narrow white line, and black spots on the wing coverts.

A broad white band crosses the black tail. Gymnogene has a bare facial patch, variable in color, but often bright yellow.

When it calls near the nest, this patch becomes pink, and during display, face becomes almost red, with various shades of orange between yellow and red. Eyes are dark brown.

Hooked short bill is black. Feet and legs are yellow, and double-jointed, with smallish feet. Both sexes are similar.

Juveniles have pale brown plumage, paler on belly, with dark brown instead black and barred tail. Chicks are downy buff to orange-brown, and at about 10 days, they are greyish above and white below.

They have pale olive grey cere and face whereas legs and feet are greenish yellow.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

Gymnogene’s call is a weak, plaintive and prolonged whistle “su-eeeee-oo”. But usually, it is a silent bird.

Young at nest make a more high-pitched call, a rapid chattering “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki”, while adults utter a “wheep-wheep” near the nest.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Feed?

Gymnogene feeds on chicks and eggs of small birds. But it also eats frogs, insects, small mammals and reptiles, and bats.

Sometimes, when available, it may consume oil palm fruit. Gymnogene is usually solitary. It is specialized in robbing nests of holes nesting birds, with its adaptive flexible knee-joints to facilitate this habit.

It can probe crevices and hollows for lizards and larvae, but when it robs weaver’s nests, it hangs upside-down to catch chicks and eggs.

To feed on oil palm nuts, it may walk along branches and foliage, feet over feet, using its wings to stabilize it. Gymnogene hunts mainly in trees and bushes, but not on the wing.

It performs hunting in weaver bird colonies to probe their nests. It hunts by soaring, searching from a perch or walking on the ground, or over tree trunks, flapping loosely its wings.

It invades water bird colonies to eat young and eggs, and may perform a low coursing flight across vegetation.

Its tarsal joint bends forwards, backwards and sideways, making it unique. Its small head allows it to extract some prey from crevices.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Nest?

Its nest is located at the top of a tree, or in a rocky crevice near the ground.  The nest is a stick platform, with a rim of green fresh leaves, and lined with green sprigs.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Breed?

Gymnogene breeds at the end of the dry season, from June to November. During courtship display, female flies turning on its back in order to present her talons to the male.

How Does the African Harrier-Hawk in Murchison Fall National Park-Uganda Reproduce?

The nest is a stick platform, with a rim of green fresh leaves, and lined with green sprigs. Female lays 1 or 2 white eggs.

Incubation lasts about 35 days, by both parents. Chicks are fed by both adults, mainly by female with food brought at nest by male. They fledge at about 45 to 55 days.