About Melierax poliopterus Cabanis, 1868
Melierax poliopterus Cabanis, 1868, the species described here, has an average total length of 49 to 55 cm (19 to 22 in), a wingspan ranging from 96 to 110 cm (38 to 43 in), and a tail length of 20 to 25 cm (7.9 to 9.8 in). On average, males are 85 percent the size of females. Like other chanting goshawks, this species resembles an accipiter, but differs in having a shorter, graduated tail (where feather length increases from the tail edges to the center) and broader wings. Adult individuals have grey colouring on the head, neck, breast, and upperparts; the only exception is the uppertail coverts, which are white or lightly barred. The belly has narrow grey and white bars, and the undertail coverts are white. The belly and wing linings are white, the secondaries are light grey, and the primaries are dark. When viewed from below, this gives the impression of a white bird with a grey head and dark wingtips. The tail is blackish on its upper side and white with grey bars on its underside. The cere is yellow, and the legs are orange-red. Juveniles are dull brown on their upperparts, with a pale stripe over the eye. They have white underparts, with brown streaks on the throat and breast, brown bars on the belly coverts, and faint or no barring on the undertail coverts. The tail is brown with widely spaced darker brown bars. The rump is white, and it is either partially barred or unmarked. Juveniles of this species are indistinguishable from juveniles of some dark chanting goshawks, except that this species has less barring on the undertail coverts and rump. At all ages, the legs of this species are slightly longer than the legs of the dark chanting goshawk. This species is most often found in semidesert, dry bush, and wooded grassland habitats up to 2000 m elevation, in southern Ethiopia, Djibouti, western Somalia, eastern Kenya, northeastern Tanzania, and adjacent Uganda.
