According to a recent study performed by the University of British Columbia, Haida Gwaii is home to the last of a highly adapted line of Northern Goshawks.
While northern goshawks themselves are not in danger of disappearing any time soon, the University says the 50 birds harboured on Haida Gwaii are the last of their unique genetic line.
Due to the bird’s lack of a desire to fly over large bodies of water, the island version has evolved separately from their mainland siblings over 20 thousand years of isolation.
Haida Gwaii’s version of the bird can be identified by their darker grey and white, distincitly patterned, feathers and golden talons.
According to the study, a lack of space to breed and continued logging could lead to numbers dropping even further.
Photo Courtesy of CBC
