[4][5] The body is mostly covered in a dark brownish-grey plumage that is quite indistinct while the underparts are lighter in colouration and have a barred pattern.

[9] This genus is within the family Accipitridae and order Accipitriformes which together make up the majority of the diurnal birds of prey.

The species was first described by Hermann Schlegel, a German ornithologist (who had a position at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden, The Netherlands), in 1873.

Due to the physical geography of Madagascar these areas are restricted to the North, West and East of the island and do not occur within the southern portion.

Consequently, the distribution of Henst's goshawk follows that of its preferred forest habitat and is not found in the southern portion of the island.

[10] The primary forests of Madagascar may be categorized as dry deciduous and humid evergreen, both of which are occupied by Henst's goshawk.

[1] As a top predator, large area requirements are necessary for foraging, explaining why the species occurs at low densities.

[1] These nests may also be built within the aforementioned Eucalyptus plantations present on the island.The only observed clutch size has been 2 eggs with the measurements of 57.0 x 41.2 and 60.0 x 42.7 mm.

[14] Henst's appear to exhibit some sort of site fidelity, where the previous year's nest is re-used or another one is built only a couple of hundred meters away from the original.

[15] Site fidelity is most likely explained by the specificity of preferred nest habitat to occur in old growth forests near water.

Although known as a climax predator within Madagascan rainforests, nest-predation has been observed within multiple Henst's goshawk populations.

[13] Henst's goshawk is an adept forest predator whose diet mainly consists of medium to large sized birds and mammals.

The ability to hunt lemurs makes Henst's goshawk an important part of the Madagascan food web.

[2] An assessment by Birdlife International in 2016 has placed Henst's goshawk as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Henst's goshawk occurs in several protected areas within Madagascar such as the Ranomafana National Park and the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve.