Harris's Hawk - BirdForum Opus

Adult of US form
Photo © by destombe
Elfrida, Arizona, USA, December 2006

Includes Bay-winged Hawk

Parabuteo unicinctus

Identification

Subspecies unicinctus
Photo © by Luis R
Caleu. Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile, September 2018

Length 45–59 cm (17¾-23¼ in), WS 107cm (42"), Wt. 900gm (2lb).
Blackish brown plumage with chestnut forewings (above and below) and thighs. The end of the tail and the rump are white, with distinctive black band between.
Females are typically 10% larger than males. Juveniles are similar in appearance, but have streaking common in this family.

Variations

Juvenile "Bay-winged Hawk"
Photo © by Rodrigo Reyes
Location: La Campana National Park, Chile, February 2005

The southernmost form (Bay-winged Hawk) remains streaked on underside and paler, streaked head even as adult, and is fairly pale on underside as juvenile.

Distribution

Back View
Photo © by Francisco Paludo
Curitiba, PR, Brazil, 18 October 2023

Sonoran desert of the southwest USA and Mexico, Baja Penisula, Gulf Coast from central coastline of Texas southward through Mexico to Chile and Argentina. This species is absent from much of eastern South America

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• P. u. harrisi:

• Arid south-western US to Pacific slope of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru

• P. u. unicinctus (Bay-winged Hawk):

• East Colombia and Venezuela to Brazil, southern Argentina and southern Chile; this form does not perform the team hunting described below.

An additional subspecies P. u. superior in Baja California, Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa is not generally recognised^[2].

Habitat

Sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes.

Behaviour

Diet

An unusual behavior in its family is team hunting; birds will cooperate in taking prey, often taking perches in what seems like a strategic manner to confuse and herd its prey before one of the group strikes. This allows it to take larger prey such as jackrabbits. Teams can comprise 2 to 6 individuals. Other prey includes rodents, lizards, and birds.

Breeding

They nest in a tree; the clutch consisting of 2–4 eggs which are incubated for 28 days.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Juvenile of US form
  Photo © by Lisa W
  Roger Road Waste Water Treatment Plant, Tucson, Arizona, USA, October 2009

• 

  Immature, Ssp unicinctus, Bay-winged
  Photo © by Luis R
  Parcela Araguaney. Santiago de Chile, July 2016

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Peregrine Fund
4. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
5. Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
6. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Harris's Hawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Harris%27s_Hawk

External Links

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