The pale chanting goshawk (Melierax canorus) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This hawk breeds in southern Africa and is a resident species of dry, open semi-desert with 75 cm or less annual rainfall. It is commonly seen perched on roadside telephone poles. Description This species is approximately 55 cm in length with a wingspan of 110 cm. The adult has grey upperparts with a white rump. The central tail feathers are black tipped with white and the outer tail feathers are barred grey and white. The head and upper breast are pale grey while the rest of the underparts are finely barred in dark grey and white. The eyes are dark brown in the adult and pale yellow in the immature. The bill is red at the base and dark grey at the tip. The cere, facial skin and long legs are also red. In flight, the adult has black primary flight feathers, very pale grey (white from a distance) secondaries, and grey forewings. Immatures have brown upperparts, with a white rump and black bars on the tail. From below, the flight feathers and tail are white with black barring, the throat is dark-streaked white, and the rest of the underparts are rufous. It is larger and paler than the barred-rumped dark chanting goshawk, Melierax metabates. Both sexes are vocal during the breeding season. The call is a tuneful whistling usually given from a tree-top perch. Ecology Food and foraging The pale chanting goshawk hunts predominantly from elevated perches such as trees and telephone poles but also walks on the ground in pursuit of prey. It is an opportunistic raptor and eats a wide variety of prey including small mammals, lizards, birds, large insects and carrion. It has also been recorded predating upon tent tortoise and leopard tortoise hatchlings which are swallowed whole while the shell is still soft. There is some evidence of social hunting in breeding groups but solitary hunting is the norm. Pale chanting goshawks commonly associate with foraging honey badgers and feed on organisms that are flushed by the honey badger's feeding activity. This association increases the hunting opportunities and prey capture success of the pale chanting goshawk while the honey badger does not suffer any loss of foraging efficiency. Breeding The relatively small stick nest is built in a tree (often a Vachellia) at a height of 2 to 12 m